The Little Prince
by Fae 206
Summary: Alternative Reality Fic: When ten year old Kuon is hospitalized after attempting to 'fly' solo, the Hizuri family decides to stay in Kyoto until Kuon has recovered. This leads to the six year old Kyoko finding out the true identity and becoming closer with her fairy prince. What happens when Kyoko is drawn more towards Kuon than even Shou? Especially when a new crush is involved?
1. Chapter 1 - No Longer a Little Kid

**AN:** I know that I have so many Skip Beat fics up my sleeve that I'm having trouble keeping them all updated. Well, I feel like I've finally managed to catch my stride in my school work that I'd be able to make an update list and update a bunch of fics every three days. Five a day is pushing it but I'll see what I can do.

As for this fic, it has been in my head for a while so I hope you enjoy. Also, I just caught up with summaries for the latest chapters and have to say this is why I only read the manga when it comes out in English book format which is why a lot of new information is missing from them. I do this so if something like the last chapter happens I can go online and read the story from there 😊 Honestly, I know I'm rambling, but when I was a kid, Fruits Basket threw me into a depression several times because I read as it was coming out. I try to save myself from that depression and at one point was only reading completed work, but I like Skip Beat a lot so I'm going to be working from English published manga 😊 Sorry about that rant and thank you for your understanding.

This is an alternate reality fic.

 **The Little Prince**

 **Chapter One – No Longer a Little Kid**

"I don't want you to go though," the six-year-old Kyoko Mogami sniffed as she looked up at her fairy prince. She had known that he had said he had to go back to his kingdom, but she didn't want him to leave. Now he was telling her that there was no way to stay in contact? "I only just met you, Corn"

"I know, but I do have to return," Kuon told her seeing how upset she really was. He sighed and then reached in his pocket for something. He smiled as he looked at it in his hand. "Kyoko-san, come here please," he said as the girl came up to him and Kuon slipped himself behind her.

"Let me give you this, my last piece of magic," he said as Kyoko looked at him with a smile on her face. "Here," he stood behind her, "Look at this stone as it catches the light," he smiled. "This stone will be able to take all the sad feelings away and look the light catches them when the stone changes color. This will be my last piece of magic to share with you."

Kyoko grinned and clapped her hands before Kuon slid the rock into her hand. "Corn, you're amazing!" she grinned. "I'll take really good care of it. Thank you, Corn."

"Thank you, Kyoko-san, I'm really happy that I got to meet you," he told her and she blushed.

She was beyond happy that she had met Corn which made his leaving even harder to cope with, but she had the feeling that he would be alright and that he would one day get out of his father's shadow.

…

…

Kuon couldn't sleep. He knew that his family was going to take a mid-day flight back to America, but he couldn't get the image of that young girl out of his head. He hated nights when he couldn't sleep. When he was a little kid, he could go to his mother and tell her he had a bad dream or that he couldn't sleep and she would try to comfort him. Now that he was ten, he had to depend on himself.

Looking out of the window, Kuon noticed that there was still some moonlight. He had snuck out before about this time and gone to his and Kyoko's secret area. Maybe if he was able to reflect on what he had learned that summer, it would help him feel better. Maybe he just needed some time alone and it wasn't as if anyone else was going to be there.

Looking at the alarm clock in the room he was staying in, Kuon slipped out of his pajamas and into some jeans, a t-shirt, and a hooded jacket. It was two-o'clock, he would be able to make it to the area by at most three o'clock and that would give him an hour to spend there until he could come back and hear his father waking up.

Then his dad would make sure that everyone was packed and ready to go to the airport and he would finally have said his goodbye to Kyoto. It was cute how her name was so similar to the place, that meant that he would always remember his ideal Japanese girl, Kyoko. Feeling that his plan was the best, Kuon grabbed a key and slipped out of the place that they were renting.

It was raining outside.

It had been so hot during the summer that he hadn't considered that it might be raining again. He had made such a great plan and his parents didn't care about him being alone usually. They said that they trusted him and both of them had left him when they focused on their own work. He was ten after all, no longer a baby and only a baby got scared of the rain.

After he tied his shoes, Kuon heard the noise of one of his parents in their room and so quietly shut and locked the door and ran off to his secret spot.

It only took half an hour until he was looking out across that lake. This was a special time to visit a very special and meaningful place. He had to take advantage of what was out ahead of him. He had gained so many happy memories in this place. He wanted to make sure that he wouldn't forget any of them if he felt sad again.

He remembered Kyoko's excitement when she thought that he was a fairy prince and how much he hadn't wanted to let her down in her imagination. He had even flown for her using the techniques he had been studying in his physical education and martial arts classes. Stepping back, Kuon put out his arms. If he could fly in this place one more time then he would remember it.

He tried to fly up into the air, as he was in the air he felt free and safe. He felt the magic of that summer wash over him, but as he came down, he was knocked aside by the wind and he couldn't keep his balance. Maybe he could direct his body into the pile of leaves, how did sensei tell him to do that again?

As he fell, Kuon didn't realize that buried beneath the leaves was a large rock and as he came down, his head and body hit the rock. He had to keep his eyes open, he had to get up before it all went…..black…

…

…...

Kuu woke up before Julie so he could watch his wife sleep with her head resting on his chest. He placed a hand on her back and smiled. He sighed as he noticed that it had been raining. Thankfully they were taking the train to the airport, it was always more difficult when people drove in the rain. Kuu felt Julie stir and took a glance over at the alarm clock.

It was six o'clock, that meant that they would have an hour and a half or maybe even two hours before they had to leave. He was excited to get back home but it would be hard to leave Japan. He hoped that Kuon felt the same as he did and that he wasn't just waiting to leave. He hoped that during this time, Kuon had gained an appreciation for Kuu's home country.

"Is Kuon awake?" Julie asked as she woke up and stretched. "Haven't you noticed how he's been waking up earlier these days? Is there something wrong with that? Aren't children supposed to get plenty of rest?"

"I think Kuon's fine," Kuu said and laughed at what Julie said, "Besides, don't try telling him he's a child or he'll just correct you that he's ten and he's not a little kid anymore. I wish I was ten again sometimes," Kuu grinned, "For me, ten is still a kid and I'm glad that he still relies on us for some things. I don't want the day to come when he won't need us."

"That is an unkind joke Kuu Hizuri, he's our little boy, he's always going to need us and I refuse to think differently. Even when he's sixty, he'll steel need us in his life." Julie stood up, "I'm going to check on him, see if he's awake" she said and Kuu chuckled.

"You just want to watch him sleep again, don't you?" he asked. Julie smiled back at her husband and left without a word.

Crossing over to where Kuon had his room, she knocked on the door before quietly opening it when she didn't get a response. "Honey," she asked, "Hey, it's time to get up soon," she reached across and turned the light on. He wasn't in his bed. "Kuon?" she asked as she walked over and saw that the bed was cold. He hadn't been in his bed since last night. Had he decided just to watch television all night and had put the volume so low that she hadn't been able to hear it.

No, she or Kuu would definitely have heard him moving around outside his room. He was ten but he wasn't exactly quiet when it came to things like the TV. Maybe he had come out and just read or maybe he had decided to sleep out there, but there weren't any books or blankets.

Where was he?

"So," Kuu stretched as he walked to the kitchen, ignoring the way that Julie was looking at him. "How's Kuon this morning? I bet he's excited to be -"

"Kuu," Julie said in terror, "Kuon's not here," she watched as her husband dropped a bowl and his expression quickly matched the horrified expression that Julie's had.

"Are you sure you've checked everywhere? Maybe he drew himself a bath?" he asked and Julie nodded as she rushed towards the bathroom but found that there was no one in there.

Julie turned back to Kuu. "I…I don't know where he is," she trembled. "Kuu, I don't know where he is."

"We'll find him, maybe he just decided to go play outside or the birds, he always likes watching the birds and nature. Maybe he just wanted to sit outside so he could spend more time in nature. I mean, maybe he thinks that he won't get in trouble if he's just outside," Kuu tried to reason but Julie shook her head.

"Why would he just go outside?" she asked, "What if someone's taken him?" she asked as she started to panic and Kuu came over to her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and help her with the anxiety, but she pushed him away from her gently.

"If you really want to help me, Kuu, you'll find my little boy," she told him with tears starting to slip down her cheeks. "I want Kuon."

"I'll find him," Kuu promised, "You stay here in case he comes back. I hate to do it, but there has to be some type of punishment for this. I don't care if he's ten or eighteen, leaving in the middle of the night without saying anything…there has to be some kind of repercussion for that."

"I agree, but I don't care about anything but finding him," Julie shivered. "You should check that place that he told us he kept going, the place with the trees beside the lake. Maybe he went there."

Kuu nodded before looking around outside the rented area and then called out for his son. He had to find him. He didn't care about the flight, but he needed to find Kuon. You didn't just leave in the middle of the night like this.

…..

…..

It took Kuu about forty minutes to reach the area that Kuon had told him about and that had been whilst running. He could see why his son had enjoyed coming to this place so much. The lake looked beautiful, there were a lot of places to just sit and talk. It was a really nice place to just absorb nature. "Please be here," Kuu whispered to himself. "Kuon!" he called out before noticing a small body on the ground.

He rushed over before his eyes widened and as he saw the blood on the rock, Kuu couldn't feel his heart anymore. It was as if he had been pulled into a fog. "Kuon?" he asked as he brought his son's body up like a rag doll and he very gently transferred him to his lap.

He wasn't sure where the blood was coming from but there seemed far too much for any kind of comfort. "Kuon," he asked again as he attempted to feel his pulse. He placed his fingers on his son's neck, there was a pulse but it was light and the breathing was ragged. Kuon's body was completely drenched with the water that had fallen on him. "Hey, Kuon, can you hear me?" he asked only to get no response.

Moving Kuon into his arms, he tried to think of the closest place for an ambulance to get to. He pulled Kuon into his chest and noticed that the side of his head had blood on it. "Daddy's got you, okay?" he asked as he felt the tiny body against his chest. He grabbed his phone and asked for the ambulance to come to the nearby bus stop.

When that was done he sent a text to Julie saying that he had found him and they were going to the hospital. With shaky steps, Kuu picked up his son and held him to his chest. "Come on, Kuon," he whispered as he struggled not to cry himself. "You can be strong for me, right? You're my strong and brave big kid. You're my son, you can fight this," he said as he made his way to where the ambulance was coming.

As the paramedics started asking him questions such as how long Kuon had been out there and where he had hurt himself, Kuu didn't know how to answer them. He watched as they hooked different machines up to his body and nervously took his seat next to him in the ambulance.

He felt his skin bristle as one of the doctors looked at him, "You're the actor, Hizuri, Kuu aren't you?" he asked as Kuu nodded and looked down.

"I am but I'm also a father, begging you to save my little boy," he whispered. "Please fight for us, Kuon," he said as he took the little hand in his own. He couldn't believe how small he looked. Just like a fairy prince.


	2. Chapter 2 - At the Hospital

**AN:** I am so surprised and so thankful for the popularity of this story. To be honest I wasn't expecting it and it really means a lot to me that so many people followed/favorited/reviewed/and read it. I hope that this chapter will bring enjoyment as well despite (warning) it being pretty sad. Thank you so much for believing in me and supporting me, it means a lot 😊

 **Chapter Two – At the Hospital**

Kuu didn't know what to do anymore. All he could do was stare at his little boy hooked up to machines in the ambulance. He couldn't keep his eyes off of him. He was so pale and the doctors had already said that Kuon had seemed to have lost a lot of blood. Kuu felt his heart break as they stopped abruptly and he saw Kyon's body shake a little due to it. He kept his eyes glued on Kuon and grabbed his hand. "It's okay," he said trying to comfort himself more than the unconscious boy, "Daddy's here. He's going to stay with you," Kuu nervously looked at the doctor. "I can right…go in the emergency room with him? He's not from this country and he hasn't been hurt before this badly. I can -"

The doctor nodded seeing how Kuu was falling apart and was obviously stressing over the possible loss of his only child. "We need you to dis-"

"Anything, just I need to be at his side," Kuu argued as he looked at Kuon. "Kuon has the same blood type as my wife. She's on her way, she can give him blood, right? If he needs it?"

"We can do a blood transfusion at the hospital," the doctor told him, "but I think we have enough in our storage that it shouldn't be a problem." The doctor looked Kuu over as he looked at his little boy on the gurney. He felt so guilty that he wasn't able to keep him safe. He was so terrified that he wouldn't be able to take him home.

As he exited the ambulance, Kuu felt himself die inside a little bit as he saw the flashes of cameras and the words of interviewers. His son was dying and all they wanted was a stupid story for their media outlet.

….

….

Several hours later, Kuu was sitting in the private hospital room where they had moved Kuon. Kuu didn't know what to say, he felt dead inside and the only thing that had brought him relief was that they were giving a high probability that Kuon would pull through. He wanted to be told his son was stable but there was still a chance that he could pass away.

The things that the doctor said about Kuon's condition, the physical therapy, the possible brain damage, the different medications that he could be put on, all of this made Kuu feel as if he was an elementary level student facing the problems of a difficult tax filing status. He felt that there wasn't any happiness anymore. He looked at Julie who was looking at Kuon in exactly the same way that Kuu was.

"If he's…if he's got a disability" Kuu said and Julie looked down.

"Then we research it, we find out what it is, we find the _best_ possible treatment for him," Julie stressed. She looked down, "If his eyesight is gone then we'll teach one another brail so that we can teach him it. If his hearing is gone then you brush up on your sign language since I already have it down."

"And if his mind is…" Kuu suggested only to meet Julie's determined look

"We get him home. We get him the _best_ therapists, we pay the money to the _best_ schools, we find out his limitations and we help him through it. We find out what his passions are and what he can still do and we encourage him in those. If it's so bad that he can't cope without having someone to look after him then I'll put my job on hold so I can take care of him," Julie insisted.

"You have international modelling contracts," Kuu attempted to argue, "I should be the one to stay with him.

Julie looked down, "I don't care," she argued with tears slipping down her cheeks. "I don't care about those. Kuu, we might lose our son. If he's got some kind of brain damage that makes life harder on him then I'm not going to be able to go to work even if I know you're there with him. I've done charity work with those children who had those…conditions. If _our_ son is disabled in that way then _I_ won't let someone else care for him. I don't want anyone to ever laugh at him. He's _our_ Kuon."

Kuu looked down before he heard a very weak and fragile voice, "M-Mom? D-Dad?" the ten-year-old asked. Kuu's eyes widened and he got to his feet, getting to one side of his son and Julie got to the other. He saw those small emerald eyes looking up at him.

"Hey, buddy" Kuu said trying to hide his own pain. He could tell that Kuon was in pain and he couldn't let his son try to hide his pain whilst he had his own on show. "I'll get the doctors," he said before Kuon looked to him.

"D-dad, I can't," Kuon coughed a little and Julie's face turned to one of more concern, "I can't move…" he said and Kuu nodded slowly. The doctors had told him that there was a strong chance of Kuon being paralyzed from the waist down. It had haunted him, but at least he would be alive.

"Just stay calm," Kuu said before looking over at Julie who had wrapped her arms around her son trying to provide a mother's comfort to him. "I'll put in that order for the wheelchair today, we should have it by tomorrow," he told Julie as Kuon bit his lip. "I'll go get a doctor," he said.

Julie sat opposite her son and studied him carefully, she reached out and put a hand on his cheek. "Baby what is it?" she asked as she looked at the part of his head where they had had to shave his hair off to sew up the scar that had been caused by the rock. "Tell me what's wrong," she said. "Please tell me what's wrong, I know how brave you usually are but remember that in the fairytale I used to read you when you were little, even the knight got scared. Then he found the courage to rescue the princess once he understood how it was good to know fear and how without knowing fear you can never be brave."

"I can't move my arms," Kuon told her and Julie froze.

She hadn't expected to hear that and she had to take a moment to pause before she considered _what_ she had heard. She tried not to cry in front of him so she just nodded, "It's alright, baby, maybe it's the medication," she suggested. "They are quite strong dosages for such a small body,"

Kuon nodded slowly and Julie looked at Kuu as the doctor came in to give Kuon another examination. Julie felt her heart burn in her chest and she saw Kuu's alarm in her change since he had left the room.

"My little prince," Julie said as she kissed his head extremely gently, "Daddy and me are going to talk in the hallway for just one moment. You yell if you need us and we'll come right back in," Julie said before Kuu looked at her. He wasn't expecting her to leave Kuon alone so soon.

Once they were outside, Kuu gave Julie a confused look. It was obvious he just wanted to return to Kuon's room. "What was that? Is everything okay?"

"Kuon told me he can't move his arms," Julie said before she pushed her face into her husband's chest. "He's paralyzed Kuu," she sobbed, "My little boy will never run or jump or…" she shook her head and cried into him as Kuu wrapped his arms around her trying not to break down himself, "He's helpless…he hasn't been helpless since he was a tiny baby. What if it's permanent? What if he has to-"

"We have to focus on the fact that he's alive," Kuu told her as he placed his arms on Julie's shoulders and then brought her in for a tight embrace. "He's alive. He's going to get better. He's not dead. Just focus on that."

Kuu stood still and allowed his wife to cry as she held onto him tightly. They only turned when they saw the doctor approach them.

"I assume you've found out that at the time being he's a quadriplegic," the doctor said and Julie nodded, her face hot and red with the tears. "I think right now his arms are just from shock, I think in a couple of days to a couple of weeks he should be moving them again, his legs though…I can't say at this moment if the damage can be reversed. He's also developed a lung infection due to the rain water gathering there. I'd like to do a brain scan to see what the extent of the head trauma is."

"He hit his neck didn't he?" Kuu asked still feeling weak.

"What's the damage to his lungs? Could you talk about what kind of an infection it is?" Julie asked.

The doctor paused, he nodded to Kuu and then turned to Julie. "I would need to run more tests to be conclusive."

"What's your best guess though?" Julie asked, "as a doctor you must have an educated guess."

"Pneumonia," the doctor said with a straight face and Julie nodded trying her best not to shed any further tears.

…..

…..

Kuu knew that one thing Kuon needed was a strong and able father but what Kuu needed was somewhere where he could let out his emotions. He had failed as a father. He had let his son get hurt and he hadn't been able to shield him from the pain that the world inflicted. Already the doctors were saying that he might have injured his brain or he might wake up a completely new Kuon. Kuu hadn't kept him safe, he hadn't helped preserve his innocence.

That was why Kuu was sitting down in the place that Kuon had injured himself and was staring across at the rock which still showed some of his son's blood. He hadn't been able to guard his son and now his son couldn't move his body. He couldn't fly anymore and he might have been able to stop this from happening.

As Kuu sat looking out onto the stream, he heard a small voice calling out the word 'Corn'. He laughed, it was always a little funny hearing how Corn and Kuon sounded very similar. Maybe he was hallucinating though, after all of this time maybe he was just wanting for this all to be a dream so much he was hearing things that weren't there.

Or, that would have been what he had thought had it not been for the young Japanese girl who had come with an umbrella. Kuu blinked before realizing that it _had_ started to rain. He just couldn't feel it any longer.

He looked at the girl who stared at him in shock and looked around. "Sorry…I thought it was…I wanted to see Corn, umm, please don't tell anyone I was here," she said before dropping into a bow. "I don't want to get in trouble with Mother."

Kuu shook his head, "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay. Are you with anyone?"

The little girl shook her head, "No. I came to see if Corn decided to stay, he said he was going back to fairyland and we wouldn't be able to see each other anymore, but I really want to see him,"

"So you're Kuon's friend," Kuu said trying to show his kindness, "Kuon's my son. I…" he didn't know how to explain that they would be staying but that Kuon wouldn't be able to play in the immediate future. He didn't have to figure out how to say those words however because the young six year old had curtsied to him.

"It's so good to meet the fairy king," she smiled as Kuu stared at her.

He looked aside, the fairy king? Him?

 **AN 2:**

Sorry for all the sadness in this chapter, I promise the other ones are going to be less sad but I had to write a sad one here. I also promise not to stretch out the quadriplegia for too long. This story has had so much more support than I expected and I am so grateful to everyone who has supported by favoriting, following, and reading.

A special shout out to: **DreamIdol, Guest (x3), ladygraywolf, and Mainaru974** for their reviews of the first chapter. It really did mean a lot to me 😊


	3. Chapter 3 - Broken Wings

**AN:** I am blown away with all the support and attention that you guys have gifted me with when it comes to this fic. I am very grateful 😊 I hope you enjoy this chapter and there will be more Kyoko-Kuon interaction next chapter for sure.

 **Chapter Three – Broken Wings**

"You are the king, right?" Kyoko asked as she tilted her head looking at the adult. She would usually feel a little nervous about just approaching an adult out of nowhere, but this was the king of fairyland. He had been the one who had given Corn the challenge to fly. He seemed like a kind person. As long as he didn't touch her he was nice.

"I guess.." Kuu said before looking around, "Where's your mother or father?" he stood up so he could look around to see if she had come here with her guardian. He watched her once he realized she had come here alone and got down so he knelt in the mud in front of her. He could remember Kuon when he was this age and all he wanted to do was run around like the world couldn't touch him. "We need to tell your mother or father that you're here, they might be worried about you," he told her.

Kyoko shook her head, "No, they're not worried. Mom locked me out again and so Corn always makes me feel better," she smiled as she thought about her fairy prince. Kyoko looked down at Kuu's knees. "You're getting your royal clothes dirty," she said as he continued to stare at her.

"Oh," Kuu paused, "Well see, that's the thing with royalty," he said remembering all the ways that Kuon would tell him stories at this age and Kuu would just listen to his son until he was too tired to invent any further twists. "We have lots of clothes so it doesn't matter if this pair of pants is dirty because I can get another pair."

Kyoko nodded, "Then where are your wings?"

"It wouldn't be right for fairy kings to expose themselves to the human world now, would it?" Kuu asked. "So I have to make sure that my wings can't be seen," he looked down and then took out a picture of him, Kuon, and Julienna. "So, you do know, Kuon, right?"

"Yeah," Kyoko nodded energetically. "He's still here. Corn always listens to my stories and he always plays with me and tries to make me feel better. Corn's a really giving person but that's because he's not human, he's a fairy prince with special powers."

Kuu sighed, "Kuon's lost his powers right now, we won't be able to make the safe passage home together so we're staying on earth just a little bit longer," he noticed the excitement in Kyoko's face but shook his head. "I'm sure he'll be able to see him soon but he can't fly right now, not even a little."

"Did he fall?" Kyoko asked with wide eyes, tears threatening to fill them.

Kuu nodded. "He did, his body needs special healing," he told her and Kyoko frowned.

"Won't his body hurt more if he doesn't go back to the fairy kingdom?" she asked and Kuu paused, how in depth were these stories between her and his son.

"The fairy council gave us special permission to stay here until Kuon's body has healed," Kuu said before noticing that the rain had stopped. "You promise me that you'll go home now? You won't come out here unsupervised, right?"

Kyoko looked down. "I'll go home," she said not saying anything about the supervision part of what Kuu had said to her. Kuu watched her go and then looked back at the picture of him with Kuon and Julie. Once he was sure the girl was out of sight, he brought a fist up to his mouth and attempted to silence his sobs.

A little boy should be able to run and play and pretend. He shouldn't have a lung infection or have trouble with his brain activity or be unable to move both his arms and his legs. This wasn't the life that he wanted for his son.

….

….

A week and a half later, Kuu came into the house which they had extended the rental lease for with a bag of groceries. He knew he should be heading back to LA and getting some things shipped over for them as well as to wrap up his own work, but he couldn't bear to leave his family this way. Kuon was released only a few days ago and there were a lot of things that needed to be changed because of his now limited mobility, weakness, and the way he sometimes got dizzy and forgot where he was.

These were all things that he believed Kuon would be able to heal from and overcome. In fact, this particular day had seemed better than most. Well, that was until he stepped foot into the kitchen and saw Julie attempting to scream into a dish towel.

Kuu placed a hand on her shoulder and then slowly guided her into his chest, "Hey, hey, what is it? What's wrong? What happened?" he asked as he kissed her forehead and Julie started shaking in his hold.

"He won't eat," Julie whispered, "I mean, I can't force him but…but he won't eat," she hit Kuu lightly in the chest. "It's because of you, because you taught him to be self-sufficient instead of my baby. He's too proud. If he wasn't embarrassed then he'd let me feed him."

"Oh," Kuu said with a weak look from side to side.

Julie's eyes widened, "Oh? That's all you have to say? Our son won't _eat_ Kuu and I know he can move his head enough to drink those smoothies and concoctions from the blender, but the doctor says he has to eat real food as well and I'm trying my hardest but…he won't let me feed him and he just…his hands can't…"

"You go rest," Kuu said as he kissed Julie's head, "I'll try to get him to eat a little more," he told her before looking down. "Maybe we should get a nurse? Someone we can hire specifically to take care of him?"

"No," Julie protested. "No. He's my baby. He's my responsibility, I'm not letting anyone else touch him. He can't defend himself, Kuu. If someone were to touch him in a way that he didn't like or if they were to try to bully him, he can't defend himself if he can't move his arms and legs."

Kuu nodded, "I'll go try," he told her before seeing Kuon in the wheelchair with a plate of food in front of him. "Hey," he tried to hide the sadness as he approached the ten-year-old. "What is that? It looks good," he said as Kuon looked away.

"You eat it then, the doctors probably have made sure it has all the crap in -" Kuon looked over at his father who was giving him a stern look for his word choice. "You eat it. You have hands, you eat it."

"Oh, I'm sure I can make myself something later," he said before examining the noodles. This was something that had been delivered from a restaurant, not something that his wife had made so maybe it tasted better. "Is it too hot?"

"I wouldn't know," Kuon looked away. "I was fine with the drink things, at least if Mom put those at the right height I could drink them. I don't want the freaking airplane."

"Kuon," Kuu sighed before nodding. He had really hoped that his son would have regained the use of his arms and hands by this point. "Your mother is trying to do what she thinks is best for you. She doesn't mean to make you feel like a little kid, but you have to admit that we don't have many options."

"Just stuff it in a blender and I'll drink it, you just have to make sure that it's at the right height," Kuon argued. He looked over at his dad, "I'm never going to be able to move again am I? What am I, some observer who is never going to be able to write an essay?"

"There are voice to text programs on computers now, I'm sure you'll be able to complete the thesis for your PHD," Kuu argued. He stood up so he could sit in a way where he and Kuon could look at each other face to face. "The doctors say that you should be able to move your hands soon, we'll just have to be patient. I'll talk to your mother about the smoothies, maybe it was too soon to try solid food."

"Mom didn't even let me pick out my own clothes today," Kuon argued. "When you helped me yesterday, you just did whatever I suggested. Mom was too caught up in her own mind."

Kuu nodded as he listened to his son, he place a hand on the side of Kuon's neck where the scar wasn't. "Look at me, your mother and I love you so much. When we think that you might have vanished and we might have lost you forever, I don't think you can imagine that kind of heartache. Bear with us a little longer and hopefully soon we'll all find the best way that we can work together."

Kuon nodded as he looked out into the garden, Kuu sighed and picked up the plate. "I can't promise you this will taste any good in liquid form but I'll bring it right back," he said knowing that any flavor loss was worth the feeling Kuon had that he was holding onto his independence no matter what small and tattered scraps of it there were left.

Kuon looked up at his dad before looking down, "Dad?" he asked, "Can I show you something? I wasn't able to show Mom before."

Kuu smiled and came back to sit in front of the little boy. "Sure, what is it you want to show me?" he asked and Kuon looked down at his hand. On his left hand he was able to tap his pinky and middle finger and move his thumb from side to side slightly.

"It's not much…" Kuon looked down but saw the excitement on his father's face.

"That's incredible, Kuon," Kuu said as he wrapped his arms around his little boy. "You're so impressive," he said as he kissed the top of his head. "You're amazing. I believe if you keep working hard, in a month you'll be able to use that whole hand," he said as Kuon looked at him humbly.

"Really?" he asked with hope in his voice and Kuu nodded.

"Definitely. I'll help you as much as I can," he said although it would take less than a month for Kuon to be able to use his whole _arm_. As Kuu took the food inside, Kuon saw something hiding in the bushes. He paused thinking what kind of animal it would be. Fortunately, he could see the bush easily from the way his chair had been angled.

Kuon narrowed his eyes and was surprised when he saw a young six-year-old pop out of the bush. That was definitely not something he was expecting. He wasn't sure what kind of magic would make someone unable to move like this. Did he have to come clean about the fact that he wasn't a fairy prince?

He smiled weakly as the little girl ran up to him, "Hey," he said weakly unsure what to say.

"Corn! I'm so happy to see you again," she grinned. "The fairy king told me you tried to fly, is that why you're hurt? Did you get a curse on you where you can't move your body until your wings are better?" she asked as Kuon laughed weakly.

"Kyoko-san," Kuon said weakly not sure how to talk to her in his condition, "What are you doing here? This isn't our meeting place."

"Well, I didn't think Corn would be going there if he couldn't fly so I followed the fairy king when he was at the store. I followed him all the way here so I could see you, Corn" she said with a big smile on her face as Kuon sighed and closed his eyes.

He didn't have the heart to tell her to go home especially since her mother probably kicked her out again. "Okay," he smiled trying his best to mask his own pain, "How about you tell me about your day, Kyoko-san?"

 **AN2:**

Thank you to everyone who supports this fic 😊 It means a lot to me and special shoutouts to: **addicted-to-the-fic, brennkai, Dream Idol, Guest (x3), JazminSS, Kris XD, ladygraywolf, paedirt, and Shadowheart** who all reviewed the previous chapter. You guys make me feel so awesome so thank you.


	4. Chapter 4 - Friendship

**Attention:** Sorry if this makes me sound like a mean person, but there's something that you should know about me. I love reviews, they make me feel special and sparkly and help me get through with the rest of my day. I am so grateful to all of you who take the time to review 😊 However, I don't like being pressured to update so whilst you might think it's cute, begging me to update whether through messages or reviews actually leads me to not want to update. Since the greater majority didn't do that, I am still going to be working on this fic but one time someone told me that if I updated a fic that night that they wouldn't end their life. I never updated that fic again and when I tried to work on it six months later it felt as if I was being forced. I know this is a huge author note but I did want to say that it's one of my personality traits. Being begged to update makes me _not_ want to update. Thank you for your time and understanding.

I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

 **Chapter Four – Friendship**

"So," Kyoko said as she sat on her knees on the chair opposite Kuon. "You can't go home until the curse is broken?" she asked as Kuon nodded. Kyoko felt the sadness in her eyes as tears gathered. "And you're not going to tell me what I can do to help? I always wanted to break a curse and I'd especially do it for you, Corn," she said as Kuon sighed and looked up.

"That's nice, Kyoko-chan, but I don't know how to break the curse just yet. I'm working on it though, anyway…getting back to your day?" he asked wanting to concentrate on something other than the fact that he could only move two fingers and a thumb and had to rely on his parents for everything else.

"Oh, well I helped with breakfast," Kyoko smiled, "Shou-kun always loves to eat white rice but he doesn't like any of the rice grains to be too hard or too dirty so I have to wash them really really well. Do fairy princes eat rice?" Kyoko asked and Kuon smiled.

"Sometimes we do, Kyoko-chan, but right now I just have milkshakes because I can't move," he said as he saw his father out of the corner of his eye. He looked at Kyoko who immediately got up from the chair and dropped into a bow. She had already been spotted and the king had told her to get supervision or permission to be here. She didn't want to tell him how she had followed him here without another adult present.

"Hello again," Kuu said as he sat down next to Kuon, placing the drink in front of him and concentrating on Kyoko who was now curtseying. Kuu heard Kuon laugh and smiled hearing it, he had thought about how much time he would have to wait before hearing that sweet laugh again. "We have a guest,"

"This is Kyoko-chan," Kuon said as he gestured with his head towards the six-year-old. "She's my friend. I think she came to visit me and she found out that -"

"Do you know anything about evil curses Mr. Fairy King-san?" she asked and Kuon chuckled again at how adorable she was. "There must be a reversal spell."

"Ah, for Kuon's curse," Kuu said as he tried to nod along and shared a look with Kuon as they tried to think about what to tell this very imaginative child. "I'm sorry, even with all of the extensive research I have in my book collections, I am still unable to track down the exact method of helping Kuon. I think it's going to take time and I think that human medicine might help us."

"So Corn is trapped like this?" Kyoko asked with tears in her eyes, "That's so sad. I'm so sorry, Corn," she said trying hard not to break. "I hope you can get your wings again. You flew so beautifully. It was so exciting," she smiled and Kuon nodded.

"I promise to try my best, Kyoko-chan." Kuon said before he saw Kyoko have a determined expression on her face. He knew that he should be expecting something big and possibly unusual from this girl.

"Mr. King-san?" Kyoko said as Kuu nodded, "Do you please have any onigiri, please?" she asked.

"I bought some at the store today, I usually make my own food but it's good to have some on hand for a quick bite," Kuu said before looking at Kyoko, "Are you hungry? Did you want me to take you ba—"

"No, thank you," Kyoko said politely. "I just need the power of the onigiri and a place to wash my hands," she said as Kuu took her into the kitchen and ran some water in the sink.

"Alright, any kind?" Kuu asked and Kyoko nodded

"The kind that Corn likes best," Kyoko said before grinning and Kuu looked at them before going to get one of the onigiri out. He took off the wrapper and handed it to Kyoko interested in what she was going to do with it. By this point even Julie was watching this strange girl who had seemingly come out of thin air.

Kyoko held up the riceball high in the air, "Please don't resist this, Corn" she said as Kuon watched her. "I know I shouldn't ask to feed the prince of fairies but I think this will have the health benefits that a prince should have," she said as Kuon raised an eyebrow and then started to eat the onigiri as Kyoko held it for him.

Seeing her grin widen was enough to make Kuon continue to eat it like a pet would. Somehow helping Kyoko with her fantasies made the riceball taste even more delicious. Kyoko smiled widely, happy that she had done something to help the prince. She ate the few remaining grains off of her hands and grinned before spotting Julie smiling out of relief.

"He ate it," she sniffed as Kyoko got down and curtsied to her.

"Good Afternoon, Queen Fairy," she said as Julie paused and nodded. "I'm honored to meet you."

"I'm…I'm honored to meet _you"_ Julie said, "what is your name?" she asked softly with the motherly affection that she was known for.

"I'm Mogami Kyoko," Kyoko grinned.

"She's my friend," Kuon told his mother not able to see her but imagining what the conversation looked like.

"Corn has been trapped by an evil curse and I want to help him feel better," she said spreading her arms wide. "May I stay here with Corn just a little longer?" she asked and Kuu nodded.

He walked over to Julie as Kyoko started to talk to Kuon about what happened after breakfast and the connection between clean rice and royalty. "She's already here, I think since Kuon's happy she doesn't need to go home straight away. Fifteen minutes and I'll drive her back home."

Julie nodded. She didn't want for anyone to think that they had kidnapped this young girl, but she didn't want to deny her son when he looked happier than he had since before the accident.

…..

…..

"Can I come back and see Corn on another day?" Kyoko asked as she sat in Kuu's fancy car. She tried very hard to keep a formal posture but she wanted to ask why the fairy king didn't just fly her back home.

"I think that should be doable," Kuu grinned to her, "Let's ask your mother about it," he said and saw Kyoko look down, her eyes glued to the bottom of the car. "Is something wrong? We are getting near to your house, right?"

"Yea, we're near," Kyoko said, "right there," she pointed.

Kuu smiled to her before driving the car into the space beside the house. "Okay, so we're at your house, let me walk …"

"No, I'm fine," Kyoko said as she tried to get out of the car, not wanting for a royal fairy to see the kind of conditions in which she lived. She didn't want for them to exile her from being around them if they saw her mother. She wanted to play with Corn and make sure his curse was weakening.

"I thought you wanted to ask your mother for permission to come play on another day," Kuu said as he got out of the car with her. Kyoko took deep breaths, she hoped that her mother wasn't there and that the door was locked, she'd have an excuse.

She slowly went to the front door and tried to listen to see if there were any noises inside, she pressed her face against the door and then

WHAM!

Kuu's eyes widened as he saw a woman coming out of the door, her hair neatly drawn back into a bun and a phone to her cheek. She didn't even notice the six-year-old who had been knocked down. Despite her not paying attention to her daughter, she did see him standing there.

"Hello," she said before smiling coldly, "If I'm not mistaken you're Kuu Hizuri aren't you? I also think that you're in need of legal help if you've -"

"I was bringing your daughter home," Kuu said before going over to Kyoko and looking at her cheek. "You might want to get her some ice," he said rather impressed that the small girl wasn't bawling. "Her cheek is going to bruise."

"Such a dramatic person you are, Hizuri-san" Saena said as she looked at him with a challenging glare, "I take it that you're not requesting use of my legal resources and so you have no purpose being here especially for such a distasteful reason as the one you gave."

Kuu paused, "This is your daughter," he pointed to Kyoko, "Are you honestly telling me that you wouldn't care were she to be hurt."

"That child is worthless, just as useless as a wisdom tooth. She only brings bad luck to anything that she tou-" Saena said as Kuu looked at her completely horrified. He had heard some whispers and gossip about Kuon in a distasteful manner before but he would never say those things to his son. Whenever someone called Kuon annoying or immature or a distraction, he would stand up for his child. He couldn't believe that there were people like _this_ in the world who would tear their child down in front of them.

"Kyoko can hear everything that you're saying about her right now. All these words are going to affect her in very negative ways, I have a problem thinking that you don't care about that, that you don't care about her," Kuu said and Saena blinked at him without changing her facial expression one bit.

"You take her then," she said as Kuu paused and took a step back, "It would save me from paying the Fuwas to take her in," Saena commented and then rolled her eyes. "I don't see why you'd want such an unwanted burden on your life."

Kuu looked at Kyoko and then back to her mother. "I can't legally take her," he tried to tell her, "but I don't approve of -"

"Didn't you just hear me say that I am a lawyer and the sooner I can get rid of her the better, so take her," she said acting as if Kyoko was a stick of gum that was giving her purse a sickening mint smell.

Kuu smiled before coming over to Kyoko, he knelt down in front of her. "Kyoko," he said as he saw her trying to curl up into a ball. "Would you like to stay with me and Julie and Kuon?" he asked as the girl nodded. Kuu placed a hand on her back, "It'll just be until the curse is broken," he tried to tell her and Kyoko nodded again.

"If it's not trouble," she said and Kuu shook his head.

"Never," he said kindly as Kyoko dared herself to smile despite the words that were just said to her.

 **AN 2:**

Hope you guys liked the little twist right there 😉 I will be including Shou next chapter as well so that'll be something fun. Thank you of course to everyone who is supporting this story. Special shout out to: **Ashenvale, brennakai, DreamIdol, Irie27, JazminSS, JeremyVD, Julie, justsomebread, KetariTM, Kris XD, ktoll9, paedirt, Sara, Guest (12)** who all reviewed the previous chapter.


	5. Chapter 5 - Royal Princes

**AN:** Thank you for your patience with this update. I've been kind of busy and wanted to create a good chapter for everyone reading this. I really hope you enjoy it 😊 Thank you for supporting my work.

 **Chapter Five – Royal Princes**

Even though Kuu knew that he wanted to make sure this little girl was cared for and despite how he saw her with Kuon and how much help she had given his son, Kuu still felt awkward about bringing this girl to live with strangers. Due to this, he had decided that he was going to make sure she was cared for in a home that allowed her to be loved and provided for. The inn that belonged to the Fuwas.

That night, Kyoko was finishing up on her work before seeing Shou come and sit down in front of her, looking bored. She grinned at him, "Look" she told him, "I got all the practice problems right. How did you do?" she asked as Shou looked away.

"Did you think that he'd take you to a different home?" he grunted, "You're stupid. You shouldn't go with strangers."

Kyoko tilted her head as she watched the six-year old boy she had come to feel was her prince. She looked down thoughtfully. "Mother doesn't want me yet, but I'll make her come back if I work hard enough," she said with a voice full of optimism. "She told that man to take care of me," she told Shou wanting to keep the information of Corn's fairy kingdom secret from him.

"That's dumb. She could have said that to anyone and then you'd be in a bad place. You're stupid sometimes," Shou rolled his eyes before looking at her. "It's good that you're here," he shrugged. "Even though you don't have good toys."

Kyoko smiled again. She didn't need toys or a lot of friends, she could make games up by herself and she could think about the fairies and fairytales and use her imagination. It was good for Shou that he had his toys to play with but there was a lot more to life than toys and material objects. "I have a new friend," Kyoko said, "he gets to stay here a bit longer."

"He?" Shou asked his eyes widening, "You're my friend. I don't want some dumb boy hanging around," he grumbled and Kyoko grinned.

"He's not dumb. Maybe you can meet him some time, I'll have to ask him," she said before she checked her work again. "He helped me with this one thing," she pointed to some math homework that Kuon had told her how to do. "He's really smart."

"What's his name?" Shou asked and Kyoko smiled.

"It's Corn," she grinned.

...

….

A couple of days later, Kuu was sitting with Kuon again and was crouched down in front of him. He had managed to lift the ten year old so he was sitting on a towel at the side of the house. His physical therapist had suggested to sit on the ground and try to do some of the arm and hand stretches. Even if he couldn't move his body yet, the doctor had told them that Kuon should still be _attempting_ to move and _thinking_ he could do it.

"So, I want you to try to reach my hand?" Kuu said as he held his hand out. He looked at Kuon, determination in his eyes as well as patience and understanding. Kuu was supposed to have left to sort things out in the US, but he couldn't bear to leave his family like this.

"Dad…you know I…" Kuon said, his eyes still full of fear. He hated feeling that he was just this doll that people could pick up and move however they wanted. He didn't want to be a puppet for anyone.

Kuu sighed, "Just try one more time, okay?" he asked moving closer.

Kuon looked down before sighing, he tried to reach out to his dad but he couldn't, what the two of them did notice was that Kuon had been able to move his hand very slightly as well as create a five angle degree bend with his elbow. "D-Dad," Kuon said shakily and Kuu smiled.

"That's great, that's really great," Kuu said as he kissed his ten-year-old son on the top of his head. "You're so amazing, Kuon," he tried to encourage him before Kuon nodded. He looked over to where his mother was watching the wo of them. "Julie!" Kuu called and he waved her over.

Julie slipped on her sandals and came over to her husband and son.

Kuon looked up at her guiltily, "It's not much," he said as she squatted down in front of him. She looked closely at how he had been able to make slight movement in his arm and wrist and tears came to her eyes. She tried to wipe them away with the back of her hand, but her joy at seeing her son working so hard overwhelmed her. She pulled Kuon in for a hug.

"That's incredible, you've worked so hard," she said overjoyed by the fact that her son was getting better. "We love you so much," Julie said as she kissed him again. "I think you're going to get really really strong," she said, "See, things will get back to normal and you're such an inspiration and hard worker Kuon that you'll be back to reading books and playing those video games before you know it."

Kuon smiled, glad that his parents were able to help him feel better about what he was training his body to do rather than what he had lost. "Mom, I'm ready for lunch soon," he told her and Julie nodded. "Can you help me back to my chair?"

Julie nodded. The doctor had told her how she might be a bit overwhelming for Kuon if she kept acting like the overprotective mother she was, so they had come up with a system that Kuon was supposed to ask before she did anything for him. They were supposed to communicate about it so that Kuon still felt as much independence as he could.

Julie managed to pick him up and then go over to his wheelchair which had a device where he could move himself around by breathing certain directions. It wasn't without its flaws but it allowed him to do a little bit more than he could do before. She set him in the chair and then looked over at her husband. "Did you want to cook?" she asked him as Kuu nodded.

"Did you want to have it liquified again?" Kuu asked as Kuon closed his eyes.

"I can…eat the solid food," Kuon said trying hard to be accepting of his condition. "Maybe Mom can use a spoon?"

"Of course, darling," Julie said as she kissed Kuon again. She sat opposite him and then had an idea. Going over to a box that they had bought to keep things for Kuon in whilst he was outside, she picked up a small stand and then some books. "Did you want to read one of these today?" she asked. She knew that Kuon couldn't turn the pages, but they had found some larger print books which were easy to read from where he had to sit and she would turn the pages for him when he asked.

Kuon nodded, "The one about birds?" he requested as Julie pulled that out and then got herself a fashion magazine that she could read. She could never concentrate on these magazines, but they gave her a way to pretend that she could take her attention away from her son whilst he read. "I think I was at that page about parrots," he reminded her although Julie had put a bookmark in it for him.

"Okay, here we go," she smiled as she turned to the correct page. "I love sitting here in the sun with the shade of the trees reading. It's a great hobby," she said before concentrating on the new fashion designs in Europe.

As the two of them read, they didn't notice that the young girl who always popped out from nowhere, was back in the yard again. It was Kuon who looked up first, hearing some shuffling and he smiled as he saw Kyoko there. His smile slipped a little as he noticed that a small boy was following her. He looked down, this must have been her prince Shou that she talked about so often.

He had no idea why he felt weird about this, aside from the discomfort that comes from meeting new people when one is not at the peak of their health, but he knew that this boy was very important to his friend. "Hey," he smiled as Kyoko giggled and dashed over to him.

"Hi, Corn!" she said before doing a cute curtsey, "Hello Mrs Fairy Queen," she smiled and Julie placed a hand on Kuon's shoulder protectively.

"Hello, Kyoko-chan," Julie smiled to her, "It's good to see you and this must be a friend of yours," she said and Kyoko nodded. Shou had crossed his arms and was looking away from everyone as if this was a huge bother on him to be there.

"Yeah! This is Shou" she gestured. "Shou, this is Corn and his mother," she said as Shou looked up at Kuon and then frowned.

"Why is he broken?" Shou asked as Julie stiffened. She wanted to wrap her arms around her son but she knew that that might embarrass him. She had to take a quick inhale then exhale to remind herself that this boy was just little and ignorant about the world. He probably didn't mean any harm in what he had just said.

"Corn got hurt and now he has to heal," Kyoko said trying to not mention the fairy kingdom or the curse or anything like that. "Corn's working really hard to get better."

"Well he looks broke," Shou muttered as Kyoko saw the ten-year-old seem to retreat inside himself a little. She now regretted bringing Shou along. She had thought it would be fun for the three of them to play together, she hadn't thought that her prince Shou would say mean things and insult Corn.

"Kyoko-chan, I'm glad that I got to meet your friend," he tried to smile and Julie could tell that he was trying his best to act and to not hurt the little girl's feelings. This was the nice person that her son was, even though he was hurting he was still doing his best to help protect the feelings of a little girl.

"Why don't I go check on your father?" Julie said to Kuon before leaving, she wanted to let Kuu know that Kyoko and her friend were there as well.

Kyoko nodded happily and then tried to take a look at the book that Kuon was reading. "Wow," she pointed at the different birds on the page. "I guess they don't have many of the birds from where you come from," she said, "you like birds, don't you, Corn?"

Kuon nodded and was about to respond when he heard Shou speak.

"I don't wanna be here, Kyoko. It sucks here. Birds are boring and your friend is stupid and broken," he said as Kuon closed his eyes. It was best to just let little kids be especially when they were acting like brats. At least Kyoko seemed interested in the book that he had.

"Maybe we should go…I just wanted to say hi to Corn, I'm sorry Shou," she tried to apologize before Shou got up onto the seat that Julie was just on.

"I don't like Kyoko to have broken friends. I'm her friend," Shou said before Kuon paused and opened his mouth to speak. However, due to his inabilities, he was unable to protect himself when Shou shoved him from the wheelchair and onto the floor.

Kyoko's eyes widened as she saw that Kuon was in pain but didn't want to show it. She turned back to Shou with a look that asked 'How could you?'

… **.**

… **.**

 **AN2:** Thank you everyone who has been supporting this fic, I have personally been so thrilled by how many people like this fic, it really means a lot to me. Special shout outs to:

 **Ashenvale, Aynari20, brennakai, Darushii, Dream Idol, Felicity Dream, Fire1, Guest (x3), JazminSS, Julie, ktoll9, Mainaru974, monkey kix ass, paedirt, Sara (x2), Shadowheart, strawrawbaby, unicornforcewinds, YukiYuri13, Yuri** : all of whom reviewed the previous chapter 😊 Thank you so much!

And now a little more egobrag

 **A New Fic of Mine**

I know that everyone likes particular fics and particular storylines, but I just wanted to take a moment and talk about a new Skip Beat fic that I've been writing because I'm super excited about it and I feel that the small summary space isn't big enough.

 **The Cold Body of the Law**

Kyoko is relentlessly stalked by a man who claims to be in love with her. Due to this, Kuon gets extra protective of her which leads for Kyoko to try to escape to have a little time for herself. However, this is the time when the stalker finds her and Kyoko is part of a rape. Kuon tries to protect her but is killed whilst trying to do this.

However, since he died of a heroic act, Kuon is brought back into an identity and body created just for him. He is now Takeshi Chiba, both a legacy and a prodigy in the legal world who is physically unable to say who he was in his past. With Kuu's help, he is able to maneuver it to get close to Kyoko again by being the lawyer on the Kuon Hizuri case. Will Kyoko recognize him through actions or will Kuon have to try as Takeshi to win her affections all over again.

This is all juxtaposed with flashbacks of the early part of the Kuon-Kyoko relationship.

I really hope that I've interested at least one person enough to check this new fic out.


	6. Chapter 6 - Hope

**AN:** Just a warning, I cried whilst writing this chapter and I don't cry all too often with my fics. I really hope that you enjoy it though 😊

 **Chapter Six - Hope**

Kuon never knew a time when he wanted to pretend not to be alive more than this. He didn't want to be on his side and unable to move. He didn't want to realize that all of his work had been for nothing and that he was helpless. He took deep breaths to steady himself and heard the tweeting of some birds. If he was a bird he could just fly away from all of this.

As he lay there, he didn't see the shove that Kyoko gave to Shou and the way his eyes widened in shock. Kyoko frowned and looked at Corn on the ground. She placed a hand on his shoulder and frowned. "I'm gonna get the fairy queen, Corn" she said before running to the house where she didn't see Julie but she saw Kuu there.

"Mr. Fairy King," she said in panic, "You have to come quick! Quick," she repeated, "Corn got hur-"

As soon as she had said that, Kuu came running and he saw Kuon on the ground with Shou pointing at him and laughing. Kuu frowned at the kid wanting to smack him for what he had obviously done to Kuon, but this wasn't his child. His child was the one on the ground in pain.

"Hey," Kuu said as he picked Kuon up and held him in his arms. "Are you hurt?" he asked, "Kuon it's okay," he said seeing how upset his son was. "I think you and your friend should leave, Kyoko," he said as Kyoko nodded and tried to take Shou's hand so she could pull him away from Kuon.

"I'm really really sorry, Corn!" Kyoko yelled to him through her tears. She saw the pain he was feeling and felt so scared for him. He couldn't move and Shou had taken advantage of that. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt!"

"Please, leave" Kuon told her and Kyoko's body stiffened as tears started to gather in her eyes but she knew that what Corn was saying was out of defense. If only she hadn't brought Shou here she wouldn't have lost her friend. She started shaking but she wasn't going to lose it in front of Corn, she wasn't going to show him how she needed him.

Kyoko looked down sadly as she walked home with Shou beside her. "Why did you push him? He didn't do anything to you," she tried to tell him. "Corn is really nice and you _hurt_ him."

"He's not a fairy, he's a regular person, they all are," Shou said bitterly. "You're just stupid."

Kyoko froze and her back straightened, she wasn't going to get upset with that. She believed in Corn and Shou was just jealous. "Even so, you're mean. You were really mean to him."

"Why can't he move?" Shou asked, "That's dumb."

Kyoko turned to him, "He was nice to you. He got hurt and now he has trouble eating and can't move. You hurt him when he was defenseless," she said before looking down. "I wish I had gone with them but now he doesn't want to see me."

"What's good about him anyway, he's broken and he's stupid," Shou said but Kyoko glared at him. She pushed him again and then looked down. "Why do you keep pushing me?" Shou grumbled, "You're stupid, my parents will kick you out if you're mean to me."

"You think pushing is right," Kyoko argued, "Corn was trying to be nice to you and you made him scared and uncomfortable."

Shou stared at her in horror and then looked at Kyoko as she stood there with her fists by her sides. "What? What is it now?" he asked her and Kyoko shook her head.

"Are you really upset about all of this?" Shou said with a roll of his eyes, "It's dumb."

Kyoko looked down and closed her eyes. She thought about how much Shou's parents had helped her and how much they treasured their son. She didn't know if the fairy king would still let her go back to the house after what had happened. She dropped down into a bow, "I'm sorry, Shou," she apologized with tears in her eyes. "You're right, it's stupid," she said wanting to stay at the inn.

Shou sighed loudly, "At least you know," he said not realizing that at this point, Kyoko was only apologizing for selfish reasons.

….

….

Kuu looked into Kuon's bedroom where he lay unresponsive, staring off into space. It had been a couple of days since they had seen Kyoko and Kuon hadn't wanted to speak to anyone. Kuu could understand why. His son had always been able to defend himself in the past and he had always willingly tried to help others. Now he could get shoved onto the ground by a six-year-old, unable to move.

Kuu took a step into the room and then came over to a chair by the bed. He noticed that Kuon was more pale and feverish than the previous day and reached out. He felt cold and clammy and his eyes looked sore as he tried to pull away.

Kuu felt his heart break as he saw the pain his son was in and the way he didn't seem to want to try any longer. "Hey," Kuu said, trying to mask the pain in his voice. "Kuon, please talk to me," he begged as he saw his own child starting to disappear. "The doctor's here, he wants to do an examination, okay?" he asked and saw Kuon turn his head into the pillow.

Kuu's eyes filled with tears as he saw his son's rejection. He was glad that Kuon was looking away and not seeing how hard it was for Kuu to act as if things were okay. "I love you," he said before looking over at the doctor.

"Hizuri-san," the doctor said as he saw how hard it was for Kuu to keep composure, "Could you give me some time alone with Kuon," he said not wanting for Kuu to break in front of Kuon. Knowing that your own father was crying over something you couldn't control might be damaging for a ten-year-old.

Kuu nodded shakily and went to his own bedroom where Julie was in a similar position to Kuon. She lay in bed unable to move and kept looking at a picture of the three of them together before any of this happened. Kuu sat down next to her and placed a hand on her arm, hoping it was comforting.

"I'm so sorry that I left him," Julie whispered as she grabbed to the pillow. "If I had been a better mother," she said as she looked away. "He was doing so well, he managed to move his elbow. Do you remember?"

"I remember," Kuu said as he let his hand softly rub against Julie's upper arm. He felt ashamed that he couldn't protect his own family. Kuon hadn't spoken for two days and he hadn't eaten either, he had just been there and Kuu couldn't get through to him, neither of them could.

"I just…he must feel so helpless," Julie said and Kuu nodded trying hard not to show his own pain to her. He needed to be the strong one in the family. "I don't want to lose him, Kuu" Julie continued, "He's ten. He's a child and…I don't want to be the kind of mother who can't take care of her little boy. I don't want to wake up in a couple of weeks and find him unresponsive," she said meaning that she didn't want Kuon to die.

"It'll be okay," Kuu told her whilst also hating the fear he had in his own heart. "In a few months it will be okay and we'll all be able to get back to America," he tried to tell her and Julie sobbed again which broke Kuu's heart.

"I'm scared that we'll be going home without Kuon or with his…what if he dies here and we can't move his body overseas," she sobbed feeling her own heart break. "I want him to be at home with his books and his toys. I'd even buy him that surfboard he's been wanting," she said and Kuu looked up.

"You said that you didn't want him to have it at ten because you're scared that he would -" Kuu looked down. He didn't want to say the word when it had a high chance of actually happening. He looked down as Julie placed a hand on her stomach remembering when she had given birth to her son and how he looked when the doctors had handed him to Kuu. She remembered the ecstatic and nervous face of Kuu as he held the little baby in his arms and how he knew he was a father.

"I will give anything for Kuon to be alright," Julie said sadly.

As they sat there together, they heard the doctor knock on the door. Kuu stood and went to open the door, he looked back at his wife unsure if she wanted to hear this. "Jules," he said as he went over to her affectionately, "Do you want me to move this outside?" he asked as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Julie shook her head and Kuu invited the doctor in.

The doctor looked at them gravely, "I hate to say this but after examining Kuon, if his condition doesn't improve then I think that his condition will prove terminal," he said. Kuu started shaking as he felt his own pain and Julie couldn't help the tears that were in her eyes. "He needs to eat and get some rest, he needs to regain that will to live," the doctor said and Kuu felt vomit rise to his throat.

"I don't know how to make it so that he wants to live," Kuu said sadly. "He was doing so well," he said as he started to cry himself which shook Julie up.

"I want to kill that little jerk," Julie whispered and Kuu stood wanting to get out of the room. He needed to be strong for Julie but hearing that Kuon could slip away from them was too hard. He walked out of the room without another word to anyone.

"I'll leave some notes for you in the hallway," he tried to tell Kuu. Kuu went to the yard and stared out. He wanted Kuon to be healthy and happy, that's all you could want for your child. He looked up at the trees where there were birds flying around and chirping. Kuon loved watching birds. He loved nature and pointing out the different animals to Kuu. What if he never did that again?

Kuu was staring out into the yard before his body shook and he had to kneel down, one hand wrapped around his stomach as he thought about the feelings that were literally leading his son closer to death. As he was crouched down, he saw a rustling in the bushes and looked up to see Kyoko. He froze and waited to see if she had brought that kid with her.

Kyoko came alone but she froze when she saw how upset Kuu was. She paused and walked up to him. "Are you okay?" she asked and Kuu looked at her trying to become strong because crying like this in front of a child didn't feel right. "Can I apologize to Corn?" she asked with her eyes showing fear.

Kuu looked down not knowing whether to let her do so or not, "Kuon is dying," he told her and Kyoko took a step back in shock.

 **(END CHAPTER SIX)**

 **AN2 :** Thank you to everyone who supports this fic 😊 Special shout out to my reviewers of the previous chapter: **Ashenvale, brennakai, DreamIdol, Felicity Dream, fire1, Guest, Julie, ktoll9, Kris, Lennie, Sara**


	7. Chapter 7 - Cheering You On

**AN:** Please enjoy. There's a long AN3 at the bottom, I would appreciate you reading it if you feel any hesitancy with this or any of my other fics.

 **Chapter Seven – Cheering You On**

Kyoko stared with wide eyes up at the fairy king. She could hear her heart pounding in her chest and she brought her hands to her sides. No. No, Corn wouldn't die. She had to do something to make him happy but she had to apologize to him first. Corn wouldn't speak to her if she didn't apologize and she needed to speak to him to make him happy.

"Mr. Fairy King, I need to see Corn" Kyoko said trying very hard to be polite and respectful but still using her determination to help her. She looked away, "You might not know it because you're a fairy king, but Shou had this movie called called um Never Ending Story which was American and there was a horse who died because he was too sad. He sank like a stone."

Kuu paused and looked at the determined young girl, "I don't think that the same -" he tried but saw how motivated she was to talk with Kuon. "Okay, I'll take you to his room."

"Thank you," Kyoko said as she tried to brush away her tears with her arm. It wasn't time for crying now. If she cried, she might not be able to save Corn. Following Kuu down the hallway, Kyoko nervously entered Kuon's room and ran up to the bed to where he was. "Coooorn!" she sobbed before placing her hands on his shoulders, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry, please don't die" she said. Now she wasn't able to stop her crying.

"Kyoko?" Kuon asked as he took in the six year old, "Go away."

"No," Kyoko shook her head stubbornly, "I know I'm a cry baby but if I go away now then Corn might not live so I'm going to stay. I'm going to stay so that Corn can live," she said not bothering to correct him on the way that he said her name.

"What's the point?" Kuon said as Kyoko looked down.

"There's a lot of point. Corn might be trapped in a spell right now but he doesn't need to be. If he works hard then he can do anything. Corn, you're so amazing, don't you even want to try? You made it so that you could take away my sadness, now I want to take away yours," Kyoko told him as he laughed weakly.

"I can't move my arms and legs," he told her, "It's no use."

"Well then you try to move your fingers and toes" Kyoko said, "You try hard to move and you can rely on your mommy and daddy and you can rely on me too, Corn," she told him as he looked at her. "I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise that I will do my best to guard Corn so that he gets better. Shou isn't a prince, he's a mule."

Kuon looked away, "Kyoko-chan, if I can't fly," he said and Kyoko looked down.

"Then you try your best to move slowly and I'll look up at the sky and tell you what's there. I want to help you, Corn" she said as Kuon looked at her.

"Kyoko. You don't want me to live, I'm not really a fairy…" he said, "My name is K-U-O-N he attempted to spell for her. I'm just a kid, not a fairy, not special, I'm nothing anymore."

Kyoko took a deep breath to try to calm herself. She had to think about the important things now and maybe this was a regular boy but he still showed her magic, he was still important to her. "Okay, so maybe you're not a fairy but you're my friend and I'm not going to let you give up. Never ever ever," she shook her head firmly.

Kuon took a deep breath in, "You'll be here even if I look stupid?" he asked her and Kyoko nodded before kissing Kuon on the top of his head.

"Your job is to try and fight Kuon. My job is to cheer you on," she said as he looked at her and smiled weakly.

"Thank you, Kyoko-chan," he said before smiling. "Dad, can I get something to eat?" he asked and Kuu's eyes lit up. He immediately nodded and went to the kitchen. He wasn't sure how this little girl was able to cast her own magic spells. He was just glad that it seemed to have saved his boy.

Before Kuu had come back, Kyoko smiled and curled up next to Kuon with a smile.

"Thank you for being my hero again, Kuon," she said as he looked at her as if she was the most precious and most beautiful person alive.

…..

…..

Kyoko wrapped her arms around a toy teddy bear she had been given when very young and looked at the house in front of her. She couldn't believe what her mother had just said. As much as it hurt, she couldn't understand most of it, but she could understand that she would be living here with Kuon and his family. Her legal guardian had changed and from now on she would be taken care of by the Hizuris.

It was exciting and lonely at the same time.

However, she would be near Kuon and that was maybe even better than being with Shou. She smiled as she thought about perhaps marrying Kuon but shook her head. He was a big kid. She looked up at Kuu and smiled weakly, "What kind of business do you run?"

"Business?" he asked, "Well, I'm leaving tomorrow to sort out some of my acting work. I'm an actor and sometimes I do other things like advertisements and interviews," he tried to tell her as Kyoko nodded.

"Can I help?" she asked and Kuu smiled as he looked at the little girl.

"How about you can help out by cheering Kuon on with the rest of us and enjoying being a kid," he told her as Kyoko blinked at him. Kuu couldn't help but think about how adorable his new unofficial adopted daughter was. He wasn't sure of the guidelines that Saena Mogami had told him but he wasn't Kyoko's legal father but he was her legal guardian. Hopefully that wouldn't come back to cause problems for him. "Okay, well how about when I come back from the States, you try to keep me on point for my appointments. You can remind me when it's time for me to do my work."

Kyoko nodded eagerly, "I can do that. It's like an assistant, right?"

"Yes," Kuu nodded, "You can help me out a lot by becoming my little assistant," he looked around. "I guess that Kuon is at his physical therapy appointment right now. Let's put your belongings in your temporary room," he told her as Kyoko nodded. "Are you okay living here?" he asked and Kyoko smiled.

"I think so," she told him, "because you and Mrs. Hizuri are really nice to me so I think it would be nice, besides Mother said that you were to take care of me and that I was to go with you and I want Mom to be proud of me."

Kuu smiled as he brought in the items he had picked up from the Fuwa inn. "Kyoko, you just tell me and…Julie if there's anything that you don't like eating or if you have any fears or known allergies. If there is anything that you're not comfortable with, please tell us as soon as possible. We don't mind making some changes," he told her but Kyoko shook her head and looked up with a grin.

"I like everything," she said as Kuu raised an eyebrow.

"How about roasted frogs?" he asked. He laughed when he saw Kyoko make a face of disgust but then she tried to cover it up. "Don't worry. I don't like roasted frogs either, but you can't say that you like everything because one day you're going to be with someone who might take you to eat frogs."

Kyoko's eyes widened and she was about to say something, but she heard the front door open and she quickly rushed to it. She smiled shyly as she looked at her friend who was now becoming like a brother to her. "Kuon," she said with a weak smile, "Kuon-san," she said quickly to correct herself. "Welcome home."

"Thank you, Kyoko-chan" he said with a smile, "I should welcome you home too," he said and Julie wrapped her arms around her little boy. It had been a couple of weeks since Kyoko had come back and motivated Kuon to get better and the little family was repairing itself. Kuu had gone back to America for a weekend to get some things accomplished that he wouldn't be able to from Japan and he would have to go back again as well.

Still, they had a new addition to their family and her son was getting better too.

"Kyoko," Kuon said as Kyoko came up to him and stood in front of him with her eyes sparkling. "Look," he said as he showed her how he was able to bend his elbow at a twenty-degree angle and move all the fingers on that one hand though they moved very weakly and slowly. "I did it just like we practiced."

Kyoko grinned and clapped excitedly. "That's amazing, Corn!" she said as she directed her attention to his arm. "You're incredible."

"I worked really hard," Kuon said and Kyoko nodded eagerly.

"Yeah!" she smiled happily as she saw him able to move most of the fingers on his other hand. She looked down, "Is it okay with me living with you, Corn?" she asked respectfully and Kuon smiled. He had to think about how cute she was and how glad he was that she was now in a house where love was felt everywhere. He felt a little odd as if the family were stealing her away, but he was glad that she appeared so happy.

"Dad," Kuon said as he looked up at his father, "Can we go out to dinner tonight?"

"Oh, honey," Julie said quickly as she looked at her little boy. "Please don't push yourself, it's alright for us to stay home. I know that you don't like being judged and we haven't actually tackled a restaurant," she worried. "Please, Kuon, don't push yourself."

Kuu shared the same kind of expression that Julie had. "Kuon," he said as he crouched down in front of his son. "We don't have to -"

"I want to," Kuon nodded determined to prove that he could be out in society, "I want to, that's what we do when we welcome people to a new home, right? I want to go out and eat hamburger steak," he said as he looked to Kyoko who was smiling happily.

"Okay," Kuu nodded, "but if you feel uncomfortable, you say so and we'll get it to go," he looked back at Kyoko. Already she was helping Kuon out with his self-esteem. Maybe this little girl was capable of actual magic.

 **End Chapter Seven**

 **AN:** Hope you guys enjoyed that, I've had people asking for that to happen in reviews for a little bit now 😊 Thanks so much to everyone who supports this fic. Special shout out to the reviewers of my previous chapter: **Amy, Ashenvale, Aynari20, brennakai, Cheshire 2313, cutielove077, Dream Idol, fire1, Guest, JeremyVD, Julie, Kris, ladygraywolf, paulagato, Sara, Tabbykatroses,**

 **Public Service Announcement:** It looks like my updates are looking a bit slanted right now with preferences of some fics to others but I hope everyone is enjoying them.

On that note: I do not cater to people and I am human. I never intend to harm anyone with my writing and I have bipolar disorder type II this means that I have dealt with depression and rejection for years. I would never try to harm somebody else.

That being said though, this fic does have a lot to do with disability just like **Secrets** has a lot to do with stomach cancer, **My Sweetest Corn and My Dearest Kuon** has to do with abduction and torture, **Young at Heart** has to do with the elderly and problem areas for them, **The Cold Body of Law** focuses on rape and murder, and **Kuon** has to do with dissociative identity disorder after suffering a plane accident. Even outside of the Skip Beat genre, my fics **The Light of My Life** has to do with abduction and being used as a sex slave and **Recovery** deals with anti-German feelings that are highlighted in Moulton's original characterization of one of my top ten DC characters, Steve Trevor.

I have not had cancer. I have never been abducted, fully raped, or tortured. I am not an elderly or disabled person. I have never been in a plane accident. I have never been murdered and I have not had somebody close to me murdered. I do not have multiple personalities and I have not lived during World War II. I do not mean any disrespect to anyone but I do have to say that I understand what it feels like to be poorly represented. I would not want anyone to feel pain and one of the readers for this fic attacked me in my inbox talking about this fic as a creation of pornography, an insult to those with physical limitations, and single-handedly worsening the problem.

I have said this to one of my lovely and faithful reviewers (you know who you are) who had family who had gone through chemotherapy. If this hurts you, please do not read it. I am not going to let you tear me down and stop writing it, but if you feel any sense of discomfort then I don't want you to hurt yourself by reading my work.

I apologize for this long and possible annoying PSA but I don't want to be attacked and told that I am causing people pain and suffering. So, if you have a problem get the F out.


	8. Chapter 8 - Limits

**AN:** Thank you for your patience in this update, I hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter Eight - Limited**

Kuu bit his top lip as they arrived in the car outside the restaurant, he looked over at Julie. "I don't like this," he said as he closed his eyes. He reached out for her hand, "I can't do this," he whispered to his wife as she put both of her hands around his. "You know it's not going to be okay," he continued to say in a very quiet manner. "The last time that someone comm-"

"Well we have Kyoko now," Julie smiled. "He said that he's willing to -"

"I can hear you and I'm fine," Kuon said stubbornly as he looked away from them. "You worry too much and this isn't about me, this is about Kyoko-chan."

Kyoko smiled happily before her concerned eyes went over to the ten-year-old. She looked down. "I want Corn to be okay too," she said. "I'm happy to eat later."

Kuu smiled back at her, "So, you think take out is good?" he asked her as Kuon frowned.

"Mmhmm, it'll still be yummy," Kyoko nodded. She was scared just like Kuon's parents that someone would make a rude comment or say something hurtful that would derail Kuon's progress. Since he was moving his arm and hand little by little every day, Kyoko really wanted to protect him. She didn't like this idea if it would harm Corn.

"I'm fine," Kuon argued, "You're making too much of this. This is for Kyoko."

Kyoko shifted uncomfortably. She didn't want to talk about how the fact that Kuon couldn't move wasn't normal. She looked down. There were too many cons to consider and she didn't want to see Kuon hurt. Maybe they should go though, if they could experience a normal meal out of the house, Kuon might see some good in the world.

"Let's just try it," Julie said as she got out the car. Her nerves were catching throughout her body and she felt a painful tug at her heart. She didn't want to do this either. Immediately, she got back into the car and looked down, her whole body shaking. "I can't do this. I can't," she said as she began to sob. "Someone's going to make a comment and…and I can't do this," she said as the tears fell down her cheeks.

Kuon sighed, "Fine. We'll do takeout," he said as Kuu gave a sigh of relief. "If it's going to upset all of you so much we'll get it at home."

Kyoko smiled happily, this would mean she would get her favorite meal and it wouldn't be at the expense of her friend's comfort and happiness. "Thank you, Kuon" she grinned to him and smiled as Kuu drove them back to the house with the promise of coming out later to get the food.

….

….

As the night drew to a close, Julie kept feeling a sickening feeling of guilt twisting in her stomach. She wasn't sure what to say or how to explain it but before Kuu left in the morning, she wanted to try. After checking to see if Kyoko was asleep in her new bed, she went to her son's room and attempted to keep her mind focused on what she felt she needed to say to him.

She knocked on the door and opened it finding the ten-year-old trying to practice the muscle exercises with his arm. "Hi, baby" she whispered to him as she made her way over to his bedside. She pulled a chair over to him and smoothed out his hair in a way only a mother would. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm getting better, right?" he said as she smiled seeing him moving his arm a fraction more with each ten stretches or so.

"You're doing very very well, Daddy and I are so proud of you," she said as she pressed a light kiss to his forehead. "I know how hard all of this has been on you and you're dealing with it amazingly. I'm so happy that you're having confidence in your improvements," she said as Kuon looked up at her.

"I'm sorry that you have to stay in Japan for so long," he told her and Julie placed a loving hand on his shoulder.

"I don't mind. There are many beautiful places in Kyoto. Remember how I would tell you stories about the fairies and the wood nymphs, well I think those things might exist around here," she said as she looked upon him lovingly. "Don't you want to believe in those things."

"Yeah," Kuon nodded, he looked at her, "I'm really sorry that we couldn't go out tonight, mom," he attempted to apologize and Julie shook her head, her eyes filling with tears and she let her fingers go through his hair in the place where it hadn't been shaved off.

"Oh, sweetie, you know that that wasn't your decision and I'm so pleased that you were brave enough to try. I know that you did it at least in part for Kyoko's sake. You're so strong and brave and you take after your father in that, he was always my knight in shining armor," Julie said before looking away. "I wanted to apologize if you felt that I was holding you back tonight or hindering your progress. I just – I love you so much, Kuon. You're my baby, my little boy, even when you're older you'll still be my little boy."

"You wanted to protect me," Kuon said as he looked at her, "It's okay. I understand. I didn't mean to -"

"Honey, you don't upset me. I know that you would never choose to be in this position. I know that people might not have made judgments and comments that weren't true about your disability. The doctors say that in a few weeks you might gain full control of at least one of your arms and that's amazing. Can I make it up to you, we can go out then, okay?" she asked and Kuon nodded.

"Maybe we could go out somewhere fun?" he asked her and Julie nodded.

"Sure, you name the place and we'll go there," Julie said before hesitating again.

"Mom?" Kuon asked as he looked up at her not sure whether she was alright or not. "Is something -"

"Is it alright with you that we brought Kyoko into our home?" Julie asked as she looked at her son, "You're not…I know we should have discussed it with you first. Your father was looking into it and we're not able to adopt her, her mother is blocking her from becoming your sister but we are allowed to look after her, it seems very complicated but that's the way it is. I just want you to know that we're not trying to replace you as if you're broken or something like that?"

"Mom, it's fine," Kuon attempted to reassure her, "I don't feel that you're trying to replace me and I'm glad that Kyoko is surrounded by people who care about her. She needs somewhere she can be, but are you sure everything is legal?" he asked as Julie smiled.

"We'll have to see, your father's friend Mr. Takarada has someone looking through the paperwork. We'll have to see if he comes up with anything. You know, he might even come for a visit to see how you're doing," she laughed softly.

"Boss is coming?" Kuon asked surprised, "Well if there's any problems then Boss will be able to catch it."

"Let's hope so," Julie said, "So, is there anything that you need from us before you go to sleep?" she asked as she watched him. "You will try to get some sleep, won't you?" she said as she went to turn the nightlight on. This was something that Kuon hadn't needed before the accident and he probably didn't need it now but before he was able to turn on a light when he woke up, at least Julie could give him a little bit of light within the darkness.

"I'm good," Kuon nodded in an attempt to reassure her. "Night, mom."

"Night, Kuon" Julie smiled as she kissed his forehead and turned out the light before leaving the room. After shutting the door, ninety-percent of the way she walked over to the window in the living room. She could only hope that things were going to get better. Each and every day she could see Kuon getting stronger and making improvements but she was also scared that the moment she felt confident in his recovery that something would challenge all of that.

She hadn't expected for her child to have this disability and despite the doctor saying that he was going to get better and that the improvements were amazing and were better than they had charted for his recovery, he was still unable to do a lot of things. Being active and having these physical strengths was part of Kuon's abilities. She hadn't expected this much optimism from him. Was this Kyoko's power that he told her about?

As Julie stood gazing up at the moon, she felt her husband's arms wrap around her and gave a deep breath of relief. "You would get me the moon if I asked, wouldn't you?" she asked Kuu without even looking at him.

"I'll get my lasso ready," he joked with her. "You'll keep me updated on any progress that Kuon is making, right?" he asked her as Julie nodded. "We can video chat and you'll give me the measurements that the doctor gives about how much he can -"

"I'll make sure that you know as much about Kuon's condition as I do," Julie said and kissed her husband as she looked at him. "I'll also make sure to take care of Kyoko. You just do your best in America and give my love to our friends. I'm going to expect for you to come back here, Kuu Hizuri," she chuckled.

"As if I wouldn't return," he said as he looked in the direction of Kuon's room. "If he needs anything from me whilst I'm away you text me with his name. If I see a text that just says Kuon, I'll call you as soon as I can to make sure I can do whatever he needs," Kuu said as Julie saw how much pain he was feeling at the idea of leaving his child behind.

"I will," Julie smiled, "When you come back can we talk about how best to handle his schooling?" she asked. "I'm too tired to think about it, but unless he gets mobility of both of his arms and there isn't a possibility of him having a seizure, I don't want him to go back." She looked down and closed her eyes, "That's selfish of me, I know, but kids can be cruel even kids at a school like Kuon's."

"I know," Kuu said as he placed a hand on his wife's cheek, "Whatever we can do to help him, I know that we will," he said as Julie nodded. "I love you, Jules," he told her as Julie wrapped her arms around her husband.

"I love you too. I love Kuon so much, I really hope he's able to return and be physically better than he was before but even if he's not, I love him anyway."

"Yes, I love him too and aside from encouraging him, I think that's the best that we can do," he said as he tried to think of all the hope he had for his son's recovery.

[ **End Chapter Eight]**

 **AN2:** Again, thank you to those who read and support this fic, it really does mean a lot to me. A special shout out to the reviews of Chapter Seven: **Angeline134, Ashenvale, brennakai, Cutielove077, Dream Idol, Fire1, Julie, Kris, ktoll9, Mainaru974, paedirt, paulagato, Sarah, Tabbytkatroses, Trace Castle**


	9. Chapter 9 - Which Way is Home?

**AN:** Sorry if I've been snappish lately, I've been a bit depressed but I write for fun and not for perfection. Maybe you don't like it, but I never edit unless I really want to, it's a terrible habit of mine. Anyway hope you enjoy. There is a scene here which is missing, it _will_ be in the next chapter.

 **Chapter Nine – Which Way is Home?**

Two weeks later, Kuu HIzuri was getting extremely nervous to see his family. He had had to finish a couple of scenes, work on some paperwork, talk to people for both himself and Julie, and find time to sort things out at their house and Kuon's school. That meant that he was really looking forward to seeing his wife and both his biological son and the little girl he was taking care of.

Julie had only positive things to say about Kyoko but Kuu had had some time to think about what was happening and he could see a certain sense of attraction from Kuon. After all that Kuon had been through, he didn't want to cause any more problems for his son no matter how minor.

He and Julie had talked about it and he had told Lory Takarada about it and somehow they had managed to find a way for a wonderful couple who were unable to have children to adopt Kyoko. There was only Kyoko to ask about this. Maybe it would be better for her to go back to the Fuwa family, then again that wasn't a family. Parents weren't paid to take children in - well they were in some areas but that wasn't what he wanted for Kyoko.

The couple that Lory had found were of a poorer background. They were family friends of one of the new actors since they had always gone to the restaurant when needing to take a break out of the house. Hopefully this would be a home for Kyoko, but it was all the way in Tokyo. He'd really have to talk to her about it.

As he approached the summer home, Kuu took a deep breath before seeing Kuon sitting in his wheelchair and watching him with a proud grin on his face. Kuu raised an eyebrow as he watched the little boy. What was Kuon going to show him? Why was he sitting all alone outside of the house?

Kuu tilted his head to the side before he saw Kuon raise his hand and wave at him. Kuu's eyes widened and he dropped his bag as a grin spread over his face. It was a quite clumsy wave but he was doing it. He had at least regained the ability to use one hand and one arm. Now they needed to work on building his strength.

"Kuon!" Kuu said as he heard Kyoko's giggle as she stood wearing a little apron and following after Julie, both of them had come from the kitchen. Kuu quickly made his way over to his son and dropped down to his knees in front of him. "Your…" Kuu smiled as he saw his son move each of his five fingers. There was still some shakiness to it, but he had improved so much. "Kuon, you're amazing," he commented as Kyoko nodded.

"Kuon's been working really really hard," Kyoko smiled before giving a small bow, "Welcome home," she said as Julie let her fingers softly slip over the little girl's hair. Kuu paused briefly as he noticed how attached Julie had grown to Kyoko. He didn't want to hurt his wife but then he didn't want to hurt his son either.

"I'm glad to be home," Kuu said as he saw Kuon wheel himself around and smiled. _Finally_ things were getting off to a good start and Kuon was recovering. This was better than he had hoped and much better than he had expected.

"Let's go inside and I'll tell you all about my friend, Kyoko. He'll be coming down in a few days to talk with us and I have something to ask you, I'd like your opinion on something," Kuu said as he saw the little girl nod and as he entered he saw how at home Kyoko was.

He really didn't want this to be hard on her, not after how much she had helped his own family.

…..

…..

Two days later Kyoko didn't know how to feel. She knew that she was a guest to this family and that they had taken care of her, but she felt completely lost. She had loved being with Mrs. Hizuri and especially with Kuon and they had both made sure that she was going to be alright, but she was scared. Not only was the only temporary family that acted like a TV family saying that they didn't want her to be with them, she was going to have to go to a new place with scary people and a new school.

She wasn't an orphan. She didn't have to do this. Maybe if she hadn't been bad then she would still have been able to be with her mother. Maybe things with her mother weren't the best – the days definitely weren't as happy as with the Hizuri family – but she knew where she was going.

Kyoko didn't want to cry. She should be grateful that people seemed to want her, but this wasn't what _she_ wanted. She sniffled and dabbed at her eyes before hearing the sound of wheels on the floor. "Hi," she said as she looked up at Kuon. "I'm sorry, I wasn't -"

"Are you scared of Boss coming?" Kuon asked, "He can wear some really bizarre costumes, but he's really cool. I haven't actually seen him _thaaat_ much but he's a close friend with Dad. I heard he's a bit like a second father figure to Dad."

"So, he's old?" Kyoko asked, "Like an old wise man."

"Boss isn't _that_ old, he's in his late fifties, I think. I think he's wise though. He's a really nice person to talk to – that is, he's a nice person if you can get through the thick eyeshadow or the kilt or whatever his latest whim is," Kuon told her. "He's extra nice to me because he's one of Dad's close friends, or maybe he just likes kids."

"He won't be mean, right?" Kyoko asked as Kuon shook his head.

"No. Boss is really understanding of other people. I think that he's seen a lot in his life. He really cares about other people though, I think he tries to empathize with everyone and he's got these huge bookcases of video and computer games where you deal with love and romance. Dad says that he's been collecting them since the 80s. " Kuon looked at Kyoko as she started to get up, her face was showing her excitement and determination.

"Besides, he's got a really good sense in people. It's something that he's taught himself, psychology I think," Kuon said as Kyoko brought her fists up to show how energized she was. Kuon was about to say more but was interrupted by a trumpet followed by others.

"Is the – you said you weren't a – " Kyoko said as she looked around. Was the fairy council going to come and reward her, was she finally going to learn that Kuon was a fairy after all? Her eyes were bright and she felt her excitement growing. This was a magical feeling.

"That's Boss," Kuon smiled, "He always likes to make an entrance."

Kyoko nodded as she followed after where Kuon was wheeling. She froze as she saw an adult man dressed up like a Victorian century English gentleman including a fake bird in his top hat. Kyoko looked over at Kuon before dropping down into a respectful bow.

"Hey, Boss" Kuon said as he looked at Kyoko, he offered his hand, "I would bow but I can't move my -"

"If I remember correctly, young man," Lory smiled to him, "Last time I had visited your family a year ago, you told me that you refused to bow because you weren't Japanese and you weren't a magician and you weren't going to adapt to those cultural norms," he smiled to the young boy. "It's good to see you. I heard about the accident and wasn't sure that you'd still have your optimism."

"He's been working really hard," Julie smiled, "Lory-san, it's so good to see you," she hugged him before gesturing to the young girl. "This is Kyoko, she's the young girl that my husband has been telling you all about. She's really a delight."

"Hmm, she does seem that way," Lory said before doing an over-the-top bow to Kyoko. "Well, pleased to introduce myself to you, young lady, my name is Takarada Lory. I am the president of LME agency and I am a representative to many young actors. I hope one day that Kuon will come and work for me."

"Sorry to disappoint, Boss" Kuon said with a strained smile, "but I don't know if I'll ever walk again. If I can though, I don't want to work in Japan. I think I'd be more suited being a Hollywood A-lister like Dad is trying to be. Acting is more competitive in the States," he shrugged and Lory gently poked his forehead.

"You'll see where life takes you, don't discard my offer just because it doesn't look good to you at the time being. Now, I'm very interested in learning about you, Kyoko-chan." Lory said as Kyoko blushed.

"There's not much to …" Kyoko said nervously but then looked at Kuon. Maybe she should try to be brave like him. She looked at Kuu and Julie who were gazing upon her supportively. They wouldn't let anything bad happen to her, would they?

"Kyoko-hime," Lory said, "Would you do the honor of talking to me alone? If it scares you then perhaps Kuon can join us too?" he asked and Kyoko looked at her friend.

"Yes," Kyoko nodded as she went to stand by Kuon's chair, "Yes, we can speak but I'd like for Kuon to speak to. I'm more comfortable when Kuon is there."

…

…

Lory allowed the kids to enter the room about half an hour later and walked over to Kuu. "Tell me if you think that I have an insane idea, one that doesn't make any sense."

"Today or always, boss?" Kuu asked as Lory rolled his eyes.

"There's something _in_ Kyoko-chan that is so charming and attractive to me. I met with her mother, Kuu, when I was looking over those papers. With how her mother treated her, you would never expect anyone with that much hope and beauty still within them. I'd like to try to protect that beauty and innocence," Lory said as Kuu smiled.

"That's exactly what I see in her, but that attractiveness is what Kuon is attracted to. Having them become siblings seems wrong and manipulative. I'm not saying that these two will ever even go out on a date, but I don't want Kuon to have anything more that's overly complicated in his life," Kuu said with his protective Dad side showing fully.

Lory hummed, "I was thinking that I would adopt Kyoko into the Takarada-family," he said as Kuu looked at him stunned.

"That would be amazing for her," Kuu said as he thought about Kouki. How old was he again? Would that give any kind of sibling rivalry? "Are you sure?"

"You don't see that type of child anywhere, Kuu. I want to make sure she has a loving, supportive home," Lory said and Kuu nodded. He knew that with anyone else he would be questioning their intentions behind those words, but with this man he knew that Lory would love Kyoko as if he was his own biological daughter.

 **End of Chapter Nine**

 **AN2:** Thank you to all the people who support this fic 😊 it means a lot to me. A special shout out to the reviewers of Chapter Eight: **Angeline134, brennakai, Cheshire2313, DreamIdol, Erza, FelicityDream, Kris, ktoll9, Tabbykatroses**


	10. Chapter 10 - Families

**AN:** Thanks for your patience in the update of the fic. I've been pretty busy with school and work which has led to a slight depression :/ Well, I really hope that you enjoy it.

 **Chapter 10 - Families**

Kyoko stood extremely still as she looked at the man in front of her. He wanted to adopt her? He had gained permission from her mother to take her in as his own child? Maybe that would be okay if the Hizuri family had to go back to America. Unless they adopted her, there would have been trouble getting all the paperwork done.

"Would you like that, Little Miss Kyoko?" Lory asked and Kyoko paused before nodding.

"Yes," she bowed quickly, "I'll try not to be an inconvenience, but…" she nervously moved her foot. If she went with this man then she knew she would still have a connection to Kuon, but she didn't want to leave yet. Kuon still had to keep fighting and he might not be as strong if she wasn't there. She paused, was she being silly in thinking that? He'd probably still improve.

"If there's something that you feel you need to tell me then I'll lis—" Lory told her before Kyoko cut him off.

"I'd like to stay with HIzuri family a little bit longer, please?" she asked them. She looked at Lory first and then she turned to look back at Julie and Kuu who were smiling with such warm expressions on their face. "I can go to Tokyo afterwards, but I'd like to stay here for as long as I'm able."

Lory hummed, "That seems fair, I think that Kuon over here needs his cheerleader," he grinned to the ten-year-old. He saw Kyoko's smile widen. "I do have to tell you that I have a son myself. He's very quiet and studious, he does have friends but I'd say he prefers to surround himself with books."

"Will he like me?" Kyoko asked nervously. She didn't want to have to prove herself to her new…was he going to be her brother? She didn't know how she was going to get a complete stranger to love her when her own mother hadn't wanted to touch her.

"He's quiet but he's a kind-hearted young man. I'm sure that you'll make a favorable impression on him and next year he'll be off to university," Lory said. Kyoko nodded as she tried to think of how she would try to impress someone who was in high school.

"That is right," Julie smiled, "How is Kouki? I feel that we haven't seen him in some time."

"He spends most of the time with his mother, right?" Kuu asked before realizing that he had stepped on a landmine. It wasn't that the woman that his friend and former boss had fallen in love with was a bad person, but the two had had some arguments and she had left him. It was after the divorce that Lory had taken more of an interest in romantic video games and dressing up (not that he hadn't before).

"That is true, that might mean that apart from the house staff that I employ, it might be a little lonely for you," Lory said and Kyoko grinned.

"That's alright," she nodded, "I've spent a lot of time by myself. I won't get lonely, I promise."

There was only a very brief silence before Kuon started to speak, moving his chair slightly closer to them. "Boss," he said as everyone turned to him. "Your computers and phone, they still work, right?"

Lory watched Kuon as he attempted to find the young boy's reasoning in asking this question. However, he realized very quickly that the actual question was hidden inside the simple one. Lory nodded as he understood how close the two children were already. "Of course, and you'll be able to have access to them, Kyoko."

"Then we can email each other or at least call one another," Kuon suggested as Kyoko's face lit up with her excitement. She turned to him and went up to him, putting her hands on his knees as a gigantic smile lit up her whole face. "Would you like that?"

"I'd love it, then I wouldn't have to say goodbye to you," she told him. "You'll send me pictures, right, of all the fun things that you do and you'll be able to show me how much your improving if you leave before you're all better."

"How about we both send each other photographs," Kuon said. "We could even add in letters and postcards as well if you like. I'll tell you all about America and you tell me how you're enjoying Tokyo. There is a lot you can do in Tokyo, I find it much more exciting and interesting than Kyoto."

Kyoko's eyes widened as she saw Mr. Hizuri put a hand to his face as a slight amount of gloom was filtered into the air. Julie laughed and rubbed her husband's arm understanding that the slight depression came from Kuon commenting negatively on the area where Kuu was born and raised.

"Yeah," Kyoko said, "I like that. Thank you, Kuon."

Kuon smiled as he saw her so happy, his eyes couldn't be drawn away from her. She was six, very young and yet she was so precious to him already. He somehow felt that the way that she was feeling about keeping in touch with him was the same way that he felt about being in touch with her. He smiled to her, she deserved a good life and he knew that Boss could give it to her. He just somehow wished that he could give it to her, but those were the feelings that came from friendship, right? Kyoko was just a good friend to him.

"No, Kyoko," he said as he moved his arm a little and grinned to himself, proud of his progress, "You should be the one that _I_ should be thanking," he said as the girl turned around and looked at him. Confusion was in her eyes for a moment before that smile came. Kuon returned it. Even if they fell out of touch, he hoped that he would always be able to remember that smile.

…..

…..

Kyoko was entering the prep school with her books under her arms. She had asked Kuu and Julie if they would be alright with her continuing to go even though she was young. Her mother might have just sent her there so that she would have been out of the way or she might have actually sent her there for an education, Kyoko wasn't sure. She knew that someone unintelligent hadn't been worthy of carrying the name Mogami. As she reflected on that, Kyoko's eyes widened and she shivered. Would there be a chance that she was too dumb or too untalented to deserve the name Takarada. She had only just met with Lory, her new father-to-be, she didn't want to be a disappointment on him as well.

Still, she wanted to come here, not for her mother but because she was inspired by all of the hard work and the energy that _Kuon_ was putting in to getting stronger and healthier. She had been scared that he wouldn't have pulled through but he was thriving and his arms were getting stronger and stronger each day. It was amazing progress and Kyoko felt happy that she could support him and cheer him on.

That's what a friend should do.

As she looked through her books, she saw a blond looking at her awkwardly. She shifted nervously as she took him in. It had been a little while since she had seen Shou and she hated that they had ended things with an argument. She approached him and smiled, "Hello, Shou-kun" she said as her eyes drifted towards the pavement rather than making eye contact with him.

"Are you still living with the paralyzed freak?" he asked her, his voice sounding bitter.

"I'm still living with my friend Kuon for a few more weeks, or at least a few more weeks," Kyoko said as she smiled thinking about how much fun and support she had been given from the older boy. She knew that he wasn't a fairy, but he was still magical and spending time with him gave her such a strong and fulfilled feeling. She couldn't hold it tighter in her heart if she tried.

"So, you're going home?" he asked her and Kyoko finally looked at him.

"I'm leaving Kyoto," she said before smiling peacefully, "Mr. Hizuri, Kuon's father, has found me a family to live with and my mother told them that they should take me in. They're located in Tokyo so once Kuon is healthy enough to leave Japan, I'll be going to live with him."

Shou choked on that, "You're leaving," he frowned before crossing his arms, "Whatever. It's not like you do any good here anyway, you usually got in the way of everything. I can't believe that you've -"

Kyoko paused before trying to think why she had once put all her egg-shaped rocks in one basket and declared to the world that she would marry Shou Fuwa and that he was her future husband. Maybe it was from being around someone as mature and caring as Kuon that she had started to see the world for what it truly was. She blushed as she secretly thought about how it would be to be older and walking down the aisle of a chapel to an older Kuon. She shook her head. No, Corn deserved better than her.

"Maybe I'll learn how to change that when I'm in Tokyo," she said before looking down. "I'm going to be getting an email address as well. I know that we're not really friends anymore, but I can give you the address if you'd like. We could try to become friends again," she suggested as Shou kicked a rock.

"Don't bother, I don't need someone like _you_ to give me your email address," he sulked. "I bet you're doing it so that you can keep in contact with _him_."

Kyoko couldn't deny that. She knew that being six and having an email address was still quite uncommon, but the idea of falling out of touch with Corn was too scary. She still had the stone that he had bought for her but she needed to find his strength too. She didn't know how to break the news to Shou that he was right.

"Is he your prince now?" Shou asked before Kyoko could answer.

"He's…" Kyoko paled, "Kuon is going to marry the world's best woman one day because that's who he deserves. She's going to be the perfect support for him and she's going to do all the things that good wives are going to do. Compared to Kuon's future wife, I don't match up to her. However, I really hope that I'll be able to cheer him on at his wedding when he's older."

Shou scoffed at this, "You're spending all this time with him and you're not even fantasizing about him. He must be a real perv if you've already been duped by a ten-year-old."

Kyoko shook her head and stood with confidence. "Nope, Kuon isn't the type of person to betray people. Sure, he makes jokes and he sometimes plays tricks but he's not like you. My biggest hope for you, Shou-kun, is that one day you can mature into the type of person that Kuon is. Maybe you'll get a girlfriend if you do that."

"Hey!" Shou argued with her as Kyoko turned to go into the school structure, "I – I can get any girl to go out with me that I want, but girls are gross and that includes you."

Kyoko looked at him before sighing and rolled her eyes. She walked off without saying goodbye despite knowing how rude that was. Before she had reached the building however, she had turned around to see Shou looking upset. She really hoped that this wasn't the last conversation that the two of them would ever have. She really hoped that one day they could be mutual friends, but until he changed his attitude, she was scared that that wouldn't be possible.

 **End Chapter Ten**

 **AN2:** So, I recently updated two fics and didn't get a single review on either of them, so I really hope that it's just that those fics are the case and not me, though if I ever did hurt you in a review, I'm sorry. I also realized that in July, I've been on this site (over two accounts) for fifteen years, wow.

Anyway, as for this fic, again I want to thank everyone for reading and supporting. Special shout out to the Chapter Nine reviewers:

 **Addicted-to-the-fic, Angel-Hime-Chan, Angeline134, AppleSlives813, Ashenvale, brennakai, DreamIdol, Erza, JazminSS, Kris, ktoll9, KuroiRyoko, LXS, Mainaru974, Michiyo, paulagato, Tabbykatroses, The Real Jackie-O**


	11. Chapter 11 - The Way Back Home

**AN1:** So, I've decided that I want to give all of my Skip Beat fics a chance to get updated so updates for certain ones might be slower. This one skips forward a little and is the end of Part One. Down below I do have a question for you guys and would be really happy if you replied to it. Also some people have written that Kyoko should go into acting and I hope I don't upset anyone when I say she's not going to go into acting just yet, but I've got something fun planned for her next. Well, I really hope you enjoy 😊

 **Chapter Eleven: The Way Back Home**

Before anyone had realized it, summer had come to an end and although Kuon could move his arms, he still needed some help with his legs. His hair was growing over the scar and he looked more like himself. The only issue was that sometimes he would still become confused and wouldn't remember what he had just been doing. Both Kuu and Julie had made note to help him with that and try to find some different types of therapy.

It was sad that they were leaving Kyoto in a way. This house had come to have so much healing potential for them and it was where Kyoko had been a part of their family even if it was for such a short time. Still, they were able to fly back to the US and the time had come to go back to work.

"You'll come visit?" Kyoko asked Kuon as she saw him wheel himself out where he could be with her. "And you'll keep trying to stand and to fly."

"Of course," Kuon nodded. "It'll be fun to see you with Boss, he's a great person and he's already a great dad to his son. He'll be a great dad to you too," Kuon grinned. Kyoko jumped up and immediately wrapped her arms around her fairy prince. She sniffled into his chest. "Kyoko, you've saved my life and you've changed it in so many good ways, I'm really glad that I've met you."

"I'm glad that I've met you too, Corn" the six-year-old smiled. She tilted her head to the side, "Do you promise that you'll email me and call and send cards?"

"Of course, I will," Kuon smiled. "We're friends right. Kyoko, even if something happens and we lose touch of one another, please know that if you ever need me, tell Boss and he can get in contact with my Dad."

"Pinky promise?" Kyoko asked sweetly and Kuon smiled as he held out his pinky to her.

"Pinky promise," he nodded before seeing Lory there with one of the business cars. "Now, you better get going. You don't want your new life to start without you," he teased and Kyoko looked up at him.

"Thank you, Kuon" she said before smiling and looking down. After everything that the Hizuri family had done for her she didn't want to be ungrateful and tell Kuon about how she had a crush on him. No, it was better just to end things this way and hopefully the two of them wouldn't lose contact. She grinned before pulling something out of her pocket and handed it to Kuon who took it.

Once he looked down at it, Kuon grinned. "Did you make this?" he asked and Kyoko nodded eagerly. Sitting in his hand was a clay model of a hamburger with an egg on top of it. On the bottom were the words 'Kuon. Thank you for everything. Kyoko' He smiled as he held it in his hands and then grinned to her.

"You're very welcome," he told her, "You have the stone that I gave to you?" he asked as Kyoko revealed it and smiled. "Until next time," he said as Kyoko hugged him again before going to say goodbye to Kuu and Julie.

As she got into the car with a wave goodbye, Julie turned back to her son.

"You better keep in touch with her, Kuon. I think that girl is far too precious to lose," Julie told him as Kuon smiled.

"So do I."

…..

…..

When Kyoko woke up the next morning, she was stunned at where she was. She had been exhausted by the time they had arrived at her new house so they had shown her to the bedroom and the attached bathroom. She had been tucked in by her new 'father' and he had told her a story and asked her for input in creating it. He had then told her to make sure to tell him if there was anything that she needed.

He had already elaborately made her bedroom to look like that of a fairytale princess and the four pillar bed with the drawn curtains was so comfortable. This was as if she had been given a wish by a fairy godmother. Actually, this was better, it was as if Corn's fairy magic had given this dream to her. She grinned before getting out of the bed and going to look in the closet.

There were so many fantastic outfits in here. Not only were there regular outfits, but there looked to be a lot of dress up outfits as well. She smiled. She would really have to thank her new father for everything he had done for her. If only she hadn't met Corn that day then none of this would be possible.

It would be an adjustment to a new life, but she really hoped that she could stay friends with Kuon and have their lives overlap a little more. She had set Corn up in a prominent place on the desk and she went over to him. She had also put a picture of her and Kuon from that summer next to the pillow where Corn sat. That was a time that she wouldn't forget and she grinned as she saw the happiness on his face.

He really was the fairy prince that had changed her life with his magic.

As she got onto the chair, she turned the computer on and waited. Usually she would have to ask the teacher for help with technology like this but now she had her own machine to play around with. Really though, what she cared about most was checking her emails.

Then again, maybe she should wait, maybe she shouldn't have expected so much. He was in America now and he might not want to be friends with her. No, that wasn't the Kuon she had come to know and care for. Nervously she waited for her new email to load.

Her eyes lit up when she saw that she had a new email from Kuon Hizuri. She excitedly clicked on it. SO he _had_ written to her.

 _Hi there, Kyoko._

 _How are you doing today? I hope that you're feeling refreshed and that you aren't staying up too late to read this. How are things with Boss? Has he worn any weird outfits yet_ _? I just wanted to check in with you and see how you were doing. Our flight went well though Mom got nervous on the airplane when I had to sit without my chair. We're back in our house in Los Angeles now. I attached some pictures because I wasn't able to show you before. It's quite big but I think Boss's is bigger._

 _Thank you for giving me a summer to treasure and to keep remembering. Remember not to get into trouble and to call or email me any time you have something you want to tell me. I'm really excited for you, Kyoko. Let me know what's up, okay?_

 _Kuon/Corn_

Kyoko felt tears in her eyes. He had really written to her. She scrolled down and her eyes took in the pictures of their home. It was a beautiful place but then a beautiful place was only right for her beautiful Corn. She blushed as she thought about him. He told her that he had had a treasured summer but really it was him who had given her everything with how much he cared about her.

She smiled trying to decide what to write before sending a message back.

 _To Kuon,_

 _I'm doing well. I had a really good sleep because I have a princess bed. It's soooo cute! I don't think I'm getting into trouble and I don't know what Mr. Takarada, or should I call him my dad now? I don't know if he's going to wear any different outfits? I'm happy. I think I'm so happy because I got to meet Corn. I love your house. I haven't explored here yet, but I'll tell you about it. My room is very pretty._

 _I'm so happy you're home safely and I want to thank you too Corn. Thank youuuuuu so much! I'm excited to. Let's stay friends, okay? You also need to write to me, I mean it Corn, pleeeeease write. Oh no, does that sound like I'm begging? Let's write and be friends, okay._

 _Kyoko-chan_

…..

…..

Kuon smiled as he saw the new email appear in his inbox and clicked it. He read it over three times, his smile increasing each time. He was so happy that he had stayed there, despite now liking the fact that he did now have a disability he had to overcome, he had a girl who had saved his life over and over again. He didn't want to say perverted, but he really did like her. She was his ideal girl, Japanese or otherwise.

He was just happy that the two of them would be alright.

That's all he ever wanted for her, his precious Kyoko-chan.

 **END of PART ONE**

 **Question:** So, I am planning on a time skip and then a part two but I wanted to know whether you guys want it put here or put as a new story. The title probably wouldn't make as much sense if Kuon was older HOWEVER I am more likely to just add onto this one since whenever I make a part two it tends to get lost. Let me know.

 **AN2:** Thank you for reading this fic. As I try to always say, I am really appreciative of the support this fic (and all my fics) receive.

Thank you to the reviewers for Chapter 10: **Aiphing, Angeline134, Ashenvale, Bacon, brennakai, cutielove077, Darushii, DreamIdol, Erza** , **Guest (6), JazminSS, JeremyVD, Jully Reed, Kris, ktoll9, Leila, Lennie, Mangalover5, paulagato** , **Tabbykatroses, Talim258, The Real Jackie-O, twilightserius, uselessname, zeynel**


	12. P2 - Chapter 1 - Distance

**Part Two**

 **Well, you guys asked for it here and I agree** **I hope you will enjoy Part Two just as much as you did Part One.**

 **** _Note: I have manipulated some events to fit better with this story, please allow a little understanding to this._

 **Chapter One - Distance**

Kyoko Takarada was nearly eight years old, only a couple more months until it would be her birthday. Her life had changed ever since she had met that wonderful fairy prince in the Kyoto woods. It was because of Corn that she was here with a family, a brother (and surprisingly to everyone a future sister in law), a father who cared about her and though he sometimes acted eccentric, prided himself on his relationship to her, and a happy home.

Money was nice because she was never without anything that she showed an interest in, but money didn't mean as much as love meant and it was Corn who had first given her that love. That was why she had been so excited to answer every text and email from him…until a couple of months ago.

She didn't know what was happening over in America and she had received posted mail with small gifts in it and words about how he hoped she was happy, but he never spoke about himself anymore. The fact that he was never available and that he hadn't written to her made her extremely nervous.

She sighed before looking on the computer again at the last message he had sent to her.

 _Kyoko,_

 _I hope you're doing well. It sounds that school is going well and that you have some friends. I have always wanted that happy life for you. I hope that the art project goes well, you're always really creative. I'd love to see a picture of it when it's done. Glad you're doing alright – Kuon._

Kyoko had sent him a photograph of the art piece she had made, she loved working with natural materials such as leaves or twigs and she had even taught herself how to weave. Her new father always admired her "folk-style art" and had displayed it in his office. He had sent her back a thumbs up picture but nothing else. She clicked onto the message before that.

 _Kyoko,_

 _It's alright to be sad now and again. I am glad that you've decided to keep fighting, you have a lot of guts so that's a good thing. You know, you can talk to me if you want to get it out, but it sounds like things are going well with you and your family. It sounds as if you really had an amazing summer, Kyoko. It's nice to hear how you are happy – Kuon._

Kyoko scrolled through more of them, for most of the year he had had the same message. He hadn't said much about himself and what she had found out were from his parents or her father. She closed her eyes and looked at the last message that she had sent, another one that had not been replied to and looked through it.

 _Kuon,_

 _Is everything okay? Father says that you're probably not responding because you're busy. You haven't been hurt again, right? It's okay for you to talk about yourself too. Thank you for being my friend. – Your friend, Kyoko._

Kyoko sighed, maybe it was because she was now seven and Kuon was eleven and nearly twelve. That was most likely it. When you were eleven you went to a different school in America and the rules were different. She didn't want to think that it was because he didn't want to be her friend anymore and that she was immature.

She closed her eyes before remembering what her father had said to her. He had told her to ask for anything that she wanted and she knew what she really did want. She took a deep breath in before walking to her father's home office and knocked on the door peeking around the door.

"Hi, Kyoko" Lory smiled as he stood up and walked over to her, "Are you on an adventure today?"

"Father," Kyoko said, having become used to calling him that, "I know what I'd like for my birthday," she said as he grinned widely. "I'd like to go to America and celebrate it with the Hizuri family. I'd be fine travelling alone."

Lory looked at her before nodding, "As sad as that makes me that I won't celebrate it with you, I'll get one of my best bodyguards to protect you," he said. "You want to see Kuon again, don't you?" he asked as Kyoko nodded excitedly.

…..

…..

As Kuon walked into the house, he looked around and noticed that both of the cars were gone. Typical. He took another breath in before seeing the housekeeper there and smiled at her, "Hello, Dominika," he smiled to her as the Russian woman nodded. "Is there anything that I can help with today?" he said as Dominika shook her head.

"No, Little Hizuri," she smiled to him and Kuon looked down. Despite her attempts to master the English language, she was only improving very slowly and Kuon immediately switched to Russian.

"Мама и папа все еще работают?" (Are Mom and Dad still working?) Kuon asked as Dominika smiled at him and how respectful he was. He was far too mature for an eleven-year-old boy. Kids his age usually ran around and made messes, Kuon was like a small version of an adult.

"Да. Твоя мать была так возбуждена сегодня вечером для показа мод. Ваш папа получил еще одну награду. Она хочет удивить его." (Yes. Your mother was so excited tonight for a fashion show. Your dad received another reward. She wants to surprise him.) Dominika smiled and Kuon nodded. He knew what that meant. It meant that his mother was focusing on his father and his father was trying his best to not let down his colleagues and the producers.

Kuon grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and gestured to his bag, "Я сделаю домашнее задание. Сегодня я хорошо с закуской" (I'll do my homework. Today I'm fine with the snack.) Kuon gestured to the apple that he was holding and Dominika laughed and nodded in understanding.

"Надеюсь, ты хорошо поел сегодня!" (I hope you ate well today) she called after him with a smile. Kuon nodded as he took his bag to his room which, once his doctor had given them the okay, had been moved back up to the second floor.

He looked at the apple and set it down. Chances were that this apple, just like the other food that he had looked at, wasn't going to be consumed. He sat down on the bed, allowing his feet to rest upon the floor and smiled sadly. If he could just get a little bit better at acting then maybe he wouldn't have lost this job. Then again, they had expected him to be as good as his father and then become disappointed that he was still learning.

He was eleven! He couldn't match up to the skills of the award winning Kuu Hizuri. At least they should cut him some slack. Then there were all those comments that he looked too Japanese in his features which would be good if it wasn't for the color of his hair and eyes so he was unusable because he looked too American but he also looked too Japanese.

He closed his eyes and took steady breaths before falling back onto the bed.

Everyone had been expecting that after he had regained the use of his body, it was all going to get easier for him. They had fought that since he had defeated one hurdle, that he would keep on doing it, but life didn't work like that. Then there were all the taunts about how his body didn't move properly and that his parents were trying to get attention by treating a disabled child.

Nothing was worse than the loneliness. If his parents had been at home then maybe at this point he would be behaving like a little boy and crying into his mother's arms and asking her for help. No, he had to make sure that nobody discovered the problems that he was having. If he just kept trying, kept hoping then there was a chance that magic would happen.

Then there was Kyoko. He couldn't keep sending her stickers with different Disney princesses on and lame notes like 'I hope you're happy' or 'Keep going' just so that he didn't have to answer her questions. He didn't want to spread this unhappiness to her. She deserved so much better than his misery, she deserved so much better than him.

Hopefully there would come a time when he was only a distant memory to her and he could slip into the darkness. Maybe he was too young to really think this way about the world.

 **End Chapter One**

 **AN:** I know that chapter was short but the next one will be longer. Thank you to everyone who supports and reads this story. All follows/favorites/hits/reviews mean a lot to me. Thank you reviewers of the final chapter of Part One: **Angeline134, AppleSlices813, Brennakai, Cheshire2313, DreamIdol, Erza, Guest (2), Guineapigs1, JazminSS, Kat, Kris, Ktoll9, Mainaru974, melime14, meowmeter, Michiyo, My Solitude, pearlynlsw, sunshinehat, Tabbykatroses, talim258, The Real Jackie-O, uselessname, zeynel,**


	13. P2 - Chapter 2 - Welcome to America

**AN:** I hope you enjoy this. I read every review but I have a lot of things set up in my mind, I hope to show everything that people are requesting to see but I hope you enjoy the story even if your question isn't answered…yet

 **Chapter Two – Welcome to America**

Kuon looked down as he tossed a ball against the wall in the backyard. When his parents had come back from their celebration dinner – which he hadn't been invited to it seemed – they had told him that Kyoko would be coming to stay with them over the holidays and they were so excited to have her. Kuon sighed, it must be good for them to be excited for some child.

When he had left Japan, it had taken him four months to be able to walk properly and move in a way that looked normal. Four months had been such a huge stretch of time where he had been stuck in the chair and he couldn't wait to get out of it. These days he moved normally and was starting to get back into the acrobatics and martial arts that he loved before but now people always tried to remind him of how he had stumbled and had to pick himself up.

Maybe life was stupid, but he had to keep trying. There had to be _some_ light.

He tossed the ball to the wall again and then paused as he saw his father standing there. "Kuon, did you want to come to the airport with me to collect Kyoko?" he asked and the preteen sighed and shrugged his shoulders with a weak exhale.

"I don't really care," he said and Kuu studied him, he was waiting for more of a response.

"Is something going o-" Kuu said as he approached his son noticing that he looked a little more distant than usual. This wasn't what he had been expecting those weeks ago when the trip was planned and it was too late to do anything now. He couldn't just tell the small girl to beat in and send her on a different flight.

Apparently, this was her one birthday wish and he didn't want to upset her on her birthday.

"Will you shut up!?" Kuon yelled and then his eyes widened as he realized the insecurity that he had let slip out. "Dad, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said quickly as Kuu looked at him as if trying to decipher a clue. He walked over to his son but Kuon backed up. "Dad, it's fine. I'm fine. I just…maybe I didn't sleep well last night."

"Do you need to go to the doctor again?" Kuu asked as he reached out to touch his son's forehead and check his temperature. He allowed his hands to rest on Kuon's arms and sighed. "Do your arms hurt? Your legs…weren't you told to rest those. Maybe playing ball isn't a good -"

"Do you have to be so overprotective!?" Kuon yelled again. "I didn't do anything to you!"

"Ku…on" Kuu said slowly and saw the near-teenager look down regretfully.

"Sorry, Dad. Puberty," Kuon said as he held up his hands in defense. Kuu frowned as he watched Kuon go back into the house. "Go to the airport without me," he said with a thumbs up and Kuu sighed.

"Kuon, if you need any -" Kuu said as he looked like a lost and lonely puppy.

"Great, Dad. I've got it," he said with two thumbs up. He just wanted to be left alone. He didn't know why he had made such an impression on the small girl but she shouldn't have come here. Kyoko had such high expectations and she _would_ have some fantasy planned for them. Life wasn't a fantasy though and he definitely wasn't a prince.

…..

…..

Kyoko nervously looked out at the arrivals gate. She had been told that when she was reunited with the family that was taking care of her for the visit, that the security guard that Lory had employed would bring out her bag to them. That made this so much more exciting. She had flown in a business class seat and they had been really nice to her. It was such an exciting trip and she had even been able to sit in a window seat so she could see the world the way that only fairies naturally could.

As she spotted the Hizuri couple she giggled and ran towards them before stopping. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hizuri," she said with a smile as she made sure to speak in English. She made a small bow. "Thank you for allowing me to come."

"Well, thank you for choosing to come," Kuu smiled and Julie got down to the floor so she could pull the little girl into a hug. "We've really missed you."

"It's so good to see you so happy and healthy, Kyoko," Julie smiled as Kuu made contact with the man who had Kyoko's bag and shared some greetings with him. "It's been a while hasn't it," she said before seeing Kyoko looking around for something. "Did you forget something? Do you need to use the bathroom?" Julie asked her concerned.

"No, I…I thought…" she said before smiling. Maybe Kuon was busy and she should respect that fact.

"Is there something wrong?" Julie asked.

"No, I just…is Kuon busy right now?" she asked as she looked up at the Hizuri parents concerned. "He's alright, isn't he?"

"Of course, he's alright." Kuu laughed. "That kid is always doing his best at whatever he puts his hand to. He's got a lot of confidence and he's intelligent and healthy and he's going to be a great actor," he said proudly as Julie nodded.

"I feel very privileged as a mother to have a boy as mature as Kuon is to be my son," Julie grinned and Kyoko shifted nervously.

"I'm happy that he's doing well, but…" she shook her head, "I'm excited about being in America." She said. She looked at them and then frowned. Why wasn't Kuon here with them and if he wasn't able to come then why were they _both_ here? She didn't want to feel ungrateful to the two of them, after all they had done more for her than her biological mother, but she wondered how Kuon felt being all alone and separated from everyone else.

"Shall we go home and see him?" Kuu said and Kyoko nodded eagerly.

"I think if we go back now, he'll feel less lonely," Kyoko grinned and Julie and Kuu gave her an unsettled look which made Kyoko feel a little self-conscious.

"Kuon never gets lonely, it's not in his character," Kuu said with conviction and Julie nodded along. Kyoko looked at the two of them but then stared down. It wasn't her place to talk about how they might be making Kuon feel bad just by them not being with him. She would feel upset if they had left _her_ behind, but then she wasn't a big kid like he was.

"Can we go and see him though?" Kyoko smiled and Julie nodded.

"Sure, let's go see Kuon and then we can go out to a steakhouse for dinner tonight," she smiled as Kyoko nodded weakly. She hoped that whatever they did made _Kuon_ happy as well.

…..

…

Kuon sighed as he sat on the stairs as the car pulled up. He didn't know what to say that wouldn't disappoint her, maybe he shouldn't talk to her at all or pretend he was busy. No. He could never let himself do that to Kyoko but maybe she would be sleepy and he could escape. He didn't want to hurt her at all and that was what would happen if he tried to escape.

He smiled as he heard Kuu open the door and watched his parents come in with Kyoko. He smiled to her from where he was sitting and saw her smile spread over her face much more than when she had been speaking about Sho in the past.

"Hello, Kyoko-chan" he smiled to her and Kyoko ran up to him once she had removed her shoes.

"Corn" she said with tears in her eyes and threw her arms around him. "It's so good to see you again and you're walking and -" Kyoko pushed her head into his chest and smiled. "It's so good to see you again, Corn."

"It's good to see you too, Kyoko-chan," Kuon said as he looked away and Kyoko tilted her head to the side. Something was wrong again.

"Kuon? Are you okay?" she asked and Kuon nodded. He opened his mouth to speak before hearing his mother.

"Kuon?" she said as she held the suitcase, "Could you maybe show Kyoko to the room she'll be in?" Julie asked and Kuon took a shaky breath before nodding and going to get the suitcase. He saw Kyoko's eagerness and internally wished that he wouldn't disappoint her.

"Come on," he gestured and Kyoko followed him with a huge smile on her face. "So, how was your trip?" he asked her and Kyoko noticed his maturity. She always held him up as an inspiration for her life, she wanted to be as amazing as she believed that Kuon was. She would always talk about her fairy prince although she just called him her friend, her very important friend. Nobody needed to know the story about the fairy prince apart from them.

"It was fun. There was good food," Kyoko said in Japanese. She was glad that Kuon had started speaking in Japanese for her. It was hard to speak so much English all at once. "I've never been up in the sky like that before. It looked beautiful and I felt really safe because I knew that I was coming here."\

"Is there something special that you're looking forward to in America?" Kuon asked as he took her down the hallway. "Any food you wanted to eat or anywhere you wanted to go? I know that Dad said that he could take you to Disneyland if you wanted."

"Would you come too?" Kyoko asked and Kuon looked away.

"I…could," he said weakly as they stopped outside of the guest room. "Here," he gestured to the door as he opened it for her but Kyoko kept watching him. She knew that something was wrong and Kuon knew that that was what she was thinking. He just hoped that she wouldn't ask.

"Is something -" Kyoko asked nervously but then remembered about how he had avoided responding to that question on email. Was it worse for her to ask it to him in person? "How is your acting going?" she asked and Kuon looked away.

"It's fine, can we not talk about it?" he asked and Kyoko nodded.

"Sure, we don't have to talk about that, but there is a reason that I wanted to come here," Kyoko said as she looked at the guest room they were in. It was such a nice room and what she would expect in a nice Western house, but this was Corn's house and Corn's territory. It did have a lot of Mr. Hizuri in here though.

"Well tell Dad," Kuon suggested and Kyoko shook her head.

"I wanted to come and see my most important person," Kyoko blushed and Kuon blinked.

"Dad doesn't have _every_ celebrity's phone number, unless it's someone who both Mom and he are friends with than I probably haven't met them. There's a lot of stars in Hollywood," Kuon shrugged but Kyoko looked at him with a cute pout.

"There might be a lot of celebrities, but there's only one star out there whose light shines with fairy magic," she giggled as Kuon looked at her in surprise. "There's only one Kuon Hizuri. My most important person," she blushed.

 **End Chapter Two**

 **AN2:** Thank you to everyone who supports my story. Special shout out to reviewers of chapter one: **Ashenvale, Cheshire 2313, Glimare, Guest, Erza, insidebeast, Kris, Mainaru974, Michiyo, PaulaGaTo, Reader4life, Tabbykatroses, The Real Jackie-O**


	14. P2 - Chapter 3 - Knowing your child

**AN:** I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter 😊 Thanks for reading.

 **Chapter Three: Knowing your child**

Kuon paused and turned to look at the small girl straight on. He looked down trying to find the right words to say and shifted uncomfortably. Kyoko reached out to touch his shoulder and Kuon flinched before taking a couple of steps back. The little girl tilted her head to the side, "What is it, Corn?" she asked nervously. "Is it your legs? Does standing for a long time hurt your legs?" she asked and Kuon looked away.

"It's nothing," he lied to her, "So, you'll be okay setting your stuff up?" he asked and Kyoko nodded as Kuon put the bag down. "If you need anything make sure to ask, I know that they'll treasure you," he said as Kyoko stood with her hands by her side and tried to make eye contact with her important friend.

"It must be nice to have parents who love you so much," she smiled as Kuon nodded silently. "I know that when I'm with Father, he's really funny and he does his best to help me be happy. He told me that it was sad to see me leave on the plane because I'd miss the holidays."

Kuon watched her, he knew that Kyoko was trying to make small talk and she did look rather excited. He didn't want to ruin this trip for her, but he had to try not to get too close to her. He nodded again and looked away. "Don't worry about me, okay?" he smiled weakly. "It must be really exciting for you to be here in America. There must be a lot of things that you're excited to do. Just, I'm going out, tell my parents if you need help," he said as he rubbed his back awkwardly. "It's nice to see you again."

"It's so great to see you, Kuon" Kyoko laughed. "Can I come too?" she asked eagerly and Kuon hesitated a little.

"There's a couple of Japanese stations on the TV. Dad likes getting those because he grew up in Japan. You should ask him where the TV is if there's anything that you'd like to see," he said before looking at her. "I hope you have a good time here, Kyoko."

As he left Kyoko felt a chill through her body. He was still being as nice to her as he always had, he was still showing her how important she was to him, but she felt strange. It was as if he wasn't really _here_. She stopped hesitantly as she looked in the direction he had just left and hummed. Maybe he had been hurt because of the accident, maybe the psychological recovery took longer than the physical one. Still, she couldn't help but feel that he preferred to be alone.

Kyoko looked at the Corn stone and picked it up. Maybe she shouldn't have come? Maybe she had hurt him too badly or maybe this was just forcing herself onto him and his family, it wasn't as if they had asked her to come. She closed her eyes and let a few tears slip down her cheeks as she brought the stone to her chest.

"I'm so sorry, Corn" she whispered as she held the stone close to her body. "I really just wanted to see you because I miss you. I didn't know you were suffering so much," she allowed her hair to fall onto her knees. She had this happy life because she had met him. He had introduced her to a world where she had people who love her, she had a family, she had proper friends. She just wanted to make sure that he had the same thing.

As she sat there, she heard someone come to the doorway and then heard heavy footsteps approach her.

"Aww, Kyoko," Julie said as she wrapped her arms around the little girl, "What is it? Are you homesick already?" she asked. "I know, you're far away from home, but we're going to have a great time and make you feel like this is a once in a lifetime visit," she attempted to comfort her.

Kyoko shook her head as she tried to wipe the tears away. "I'm sorry," she tried to apologize. "It's not that. I'm really happy to be here and thank you so much for having me here, I'm really grateful," she attempted to smile as Julie sighed and offered a nonbelieving look.

"I know that you're upset about something. I get upset too and when I do, I try to talk to someone about it," Julie smiled. "It's never good to keep your feelings bottled up inside."

Kyoko looked at her and blinked hard as she attempted to get rid of the tears that were making her feel weak and childish. "Wha-What about Kuon? Who does he talk to? Is it his dad?" she asked and Julie laughed as she hugged Kyoko close.

"You have no need to worry about Kuon, he's a very happy child." Julie said as Kyoko blinked and looked down before listening to the rest of what Julie was saying. "What makes me so happy to be his mother is that he's talented at so many things, he's gorgeous, he's intelligent, he's so mature. In short, Kuon is the perfect son and he has such an optimistic view on life. He's going to grow up and be so magnificent, just you wait and see."

Kyoko wrapped an arm around herself, "No. He's not," she argued and Julie looked to her.

"Kyoko, maybe if Kuon has hurt you, he doesn't know what he did. I know that it's hard to think about, but Kuon probably didn't mean to trouble you. Can you tell me what he said to you so that I can think about what it really means?" she asked as Kyoko's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"N-No, Kuon didn't do anything wrong," she tried to argue and Julie smiled.

"I know that he doesn't do anything wrong, he's a great kid and I'm so fortunate to be his mother. However, America is a different culture than Japan and if Kuon has acted in a way that you feel inappropriate due to the culture barriers then I want to help you figure out why he did that," Julie smiled as Kyoko paused.

Did she really think that Kuon was okay? Kyoko really didn't think that Kuon was okay at all, he seemed distant and to not want her here. Despite how much he was trying to be nice, there were some nasty thorns in his heart that were hurting him. Why couldn't his mother see this? She should be the one to comfort him and to make sure he could go through life happy and optimistic.

"Umm…no, it was nothing," Kyoko tried to brush it off. "I just…Kuon…umm…no it's okay," she tried to smile. She wanted to help him but with how delusional Julie seemed there might not be any chance of breaking through. She didn't want to insult the woman either. This woman was interested in taking care of her, she didn't want to spit in her face.

Julie grinned at her, "Do you want to help make burgers for dinner with us?" she asked as Kyoko's eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly. "I know that it must be more exciting to go out to dinner, but I think that my husband was eager about you being here with us and we remember how much you loved his cooking when you stayed with us in Kyoto."

Kyoko smiled and nodded eagerly, "Is Kuon going to help too?" she asked and Julie smiled.

"Why don't we go ask him?" she said as she gave Kyoko another hug and grabbed some tissues for her to wipe her eyes with. "See, now it doesn't even look like you've been crying," she tried to cheer up the small girl before going out of the room with her. The two of them came to see Kuu in the kitchen and he looked at Julie in surprise.

"I thought you had gone out," he told her as Julie blinked confused.

"Why would you think something like that?" she asked, "We talked about making dinner together only a few minutes ago and I know that I went to check on Kyoko but you can't be that forgetful. Why would I be going out?"

"Because I heard the door get unlocked and then closed. I just assume that it was you," Kuu said as he laughed softly. "I must have imagined that."

Kyoko's eyes widened and she rushed to the doorway. She could see shoes which would be the Hizuri parents but there was a space missing with the smaller shoes. Had Kuon gone out? "Could it be that -" she pointed before looking down. She didn't want him to feel alone anymore. He had always protected her from the pain of the world, why couldn't she protect him now?

"I'm sorry, I want to go look for him," she said to the parents. "I'll be safe," she said as Julie sighed.

"You should just wait here for him, Kyoko. Kuon goes out when he needs his space. He never gets into trouble out there so it's going to be okay. Sometimes Kuon needs his space but we all do, don't we?" she asked her husband and Kuu nodded.

Kyoko looked at the door again before coming into the kitchen. She'd most likely be too late to stop him from leaving, but this didn't feel right. Is this why he had stopped emailing her back. These weren't the actions or the words of someone who was happy but of someone who was attempting to act happy.

"Kuon," she whispered softly, "I really hope you're okay. I hope we can do something fun tonight," she said as she tried to hope with her whole heart and wish for the safety of her special friend.

….

….

"It's that loser Hizuri," a boy shouted out as Kuon attempted to ignore them. People were stupid and especially other boys. Maybe if he had grown up around other children he would be like them, but he was often surrounded by his father's friends and famous models that his mother knew. Instead of playing with toy cars and Transformers, he had intelligent conversations that were beyond his years.

"Hey, Hizuri! You look like a mutt today as well," a boy called out with a laugh and Kuon closed his eyes.

Ignoring them was easier. He didn't want to drop down to their level. These people were idiots and he should be glad that he was born with a brain and a heart. He cared about other people. He shouldn't care what they thought of him, he wanted to protect others and not hurt them. Kyoko brought those feelings out in him.

"You gonna wa-wa-walk like this," the first boy said as he did an impression of Kuon during the time that he was doing his physical therapy. Kuon sighed and tried to ignore them again.

"You hearing me Hizuri?" the guy asked before shoving Kuon into the wall. Both boys expected him to fall down and one of them was even waiting for him to start crying for his mother. They didn't expect the boy they were trying to bully to turn around with such anger in his eyes.

"You better beat it," he said with a cold and sadistic smile on his face. "You don't know who you're messing with,"

"Aww, da little baby likes to -" the first guy said before Kuon struck him in the groin with a strong kick and watched the preteen cry. He hated to admit it, but unlike when he saw Kyoko cry, this actually felt good to him.

 **End of Chapter Three**

 **AN2:** Thank you to everyone who reads and supports this story. A special shout out to the reviewers of Chapter Two:

 **Brennakai, Cheshire 2313, Crazy4Animation, cutielove077, DreamIdol, Erza3, Glimare, Guest (2), insidebeast, PaulaGaTo, SweetJaneP's, Tabbykatroses, talim258, The Real Jackie-O**


	15. P2 - Chapter 4 - Kuon

**AN:** I've decided to try to update this fic at least once a week on Mondays. It seems to be my most popular fic by far and I'm happy that so many people are enjoying it. This week is my birthday so I'm not sure how many other fics will be updated, but I hope you enjoy the ones which are.

 **Chapter Four – Kuon's Dream**

Kyoko looked up at the sky. It was getting dark and she was starting to fall asleep but she wasn't going to let her exhaustion take more importance than her mission. She had come here to see Kuon and he had just left. She knew he felt exposed and she wanted to apologize to him, but more than that, she wanted to shake him and tell him to explain and to let somebody else in. He wasn't doing well and somehow his parents were too oblivious to notice it.

She looked around at the house. This really was a nice place that already made her feel at home. She wondered if Kuon still felt at home here. She wondered how much therapy he had had after the accident and whether any of it had been to help him heal mentally and emotionally.

She saw him come back with a few bruises on his body and his hand looking like there was some blood, "Kuon!" she said as she jumped down and stood in front of him. Her eyes widened as she saw how he didn't look at her as if he was ashamed over something. "Are you -"

"I'm fine," Kuon shrugged before giving him a false smile, "Did you have a good day today, Kyoko?" he asked as Kyoko pointed a finger at him.

"Father would call that a no good," Kyoko told him as Kuon blinked in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Kuon asked as he tilted his head to the side continuing this false smile which would mirror an older actor's in the future as he attempted to prove that Ren Tsuruga was an overall good guy and perfect gentleman, that was if the future ended up with that similarity.

"Kuon, please, this is me. How long has this been going on?" Kyoko attempted to ask him and Kuon raised an eyebrow before sighing.

"Kyoko, please drop it?" he requested, "It's not really any of your business, it's nobody's."

Kyoko formed fists by her side and she bit her bottom lip as she blinked away the tears. She hadn't expected him to attack her like that. She could see all the defenses around him and she didn't know what had happened since they were in Kyoto but she didn't like it. "You're important to me," she said as Kuon looked at her and laughed bitterly.

"At least I'm important to somebody," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I'm sorry that you can't see the real value of something in front of you. I'm not worth anything, Kyoko-chan."

"Idiot" Kyoko blinked back tears and Kuon watched her. He hated seeing her cry.

"Kyoko, things around here are…complicated. It's alright. Let's think about what would be fun for us to do together, okay?" Kuon asked and Kyoko shook her head. "I don't know what else to suggest," Kuon shrugged, "Things are what they are."

"I want to do things that _Kuon_ thinks are fun," Kyoko said as she looked at him and wanted to run into his arms and hug him, instead she decided to keep her distance until he allowed her to comfort him.

"Kyoko," Kuon sighed as he took her in. "I don't _want_ you to know me."

Kyoko blinked confused but wrapped an arm around her stomach as if she was going to throw up. Had she done something wrong? Why was he pushing her away and being so mean to her? Was he just pretending to like her? As she closed her eyes and felt tears slip down her cheeks, she suddenly felt him pull her into his warm body and he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong," he told her. "Our friendship is important to me too, Kyoko, but I wish you had better friends than me. I know that you have friends at school so why don't you tell me about them. What kind of things do you like to do with your friends? Is there something that you do with them that you and I can do together?"

Kyoko looked at him as tears were going down her cheeks, "Kuon, I don't want to talk about them. I want you to prove to me that you're going to be okay. Did I ruin your life?" she asked as his eyes grew wider than she had ever seen anyone's do before.

"No." Kuon looked at her, "Kyoko, I care about you and I need to protect you from my sadness," he tried to explain. "If I ruined your new life for you, I don't know if I'd be able to forgive myself."

Kyoko moved her foot anxiously, "More than anything I want to be of help to my friend in the ways he's helped me. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have the life that I have now, but even if I had nothing, I'd still want to be friends with you Kuon. I'm strong enough to take on your sadness. You need _somebody_ there for you and your parents…" she looked down. Kuu and Julie weren't hurting Kuon intentionally, they were just too caught up in very busy schedules. They weren't seeing the impact that they had on their son. It wasn't in the same way that her mother had hurt her.

"My parents love me," Kuon said protectively.

Kyoko nodded, "I didn't mean to disrespect them," she said quickly. "I'm sorry, I just see you hurting and I want to help. If there is something that I _can_ help with."

Kuon looked up, "How about we go to the pool?" he asked and Kyoko smiled. "We can sit in the water and I'll tell you all about how I'm not a very good actor," he laughed and Kyoko shook her head.

"I think you are a good actor, but I just know you well enough to see through you," she smiled as she felt him take her hand and lead her to the back of the house.

…..

…..

"So, they don't want me," Kuon said as he sat with his feet in the water as he looked over to Kyoko. "I don't know, it's as if being my father's son is such a huge monumental thing and a sign that I'm the next top actor." Kuon shivered and Kyoko looked at him with her head tilted. "I don't know. I wish that…I wish I could run away from all of this and not be here. Every time I try to act I am a huge disappointment to my father but I love doing it. I've always loved feeling as if I could adopt a new personality and new name. I mean, do you feel that?"

Kyoko looked at Kuon sadly and looked down. She kicked her feet in the water and looked at how the small rings would circle out. "I'm surrounded by actors, but I don't think I can do that," Kyoko smiled weakly. "I'm too shy. There's nothing that's motivating me to do that. Father helps me with my art projects though, he says that I might be able to get a sewing machine soon and then I can try to make accessories as well."

Kuon smiled, "Like makeup bags?" he asked and Kyoko looked at him with a small nod.

"I think that I like reflecting on the beauty in the world like the fairies and the magic. I know that you're not a fairy Kuon but it's like…when you look at a rainbow, you see so much beauty in the world and I want to capture that in my art. I've thought that I want to be an artist but I like bags and hair accessories because you can take the magic with you," Kyoko said passionately before seeing a slight deadness in Kuon's eyes.

"Kuon, can I give you some advice?" she asked nervously and Kuon looked at her before nodding slowly. "Take a break."

Kuon looked at her surprised before shaking his head, "I can't do that. Everyone else would get so far ahead," he tried to argue, "If I'm not acting or trying to get roles then I never will," he tried to argue. "It's not as if I can start a new profession at sixteen and get the top roles in any country," he argued and Kyoko hummed.

"There are lots of people who are child stars in Japan but half of them burn out. Acting is a job Kuon and I believe that you'll be the greatest actor one day but Father says you need to nourish your heart and body and that if you can't take care of yourself by exercising, having an outlet for your emotions, and having a good diet then you're really not being an actor," she smiled as she saw him looking at her and then he laughed too.

"Are you really sure that you're only turning eight?" he asked before looking down. "No, I can't stop. Acting is all that I have in my life. I'm not like you. I'm sure that you have people around you all the time, if I told Dad that I wanted to quit then I'd hurt him. You should have seen his face when I first told him that I wanted to be an actor because he liked doing it. I can't hurt him like that," Kuon commented. "I just have to man up."

Kyoko closed her eyes, "Can you please just think about it?" she asked and Kuon looked away.

"My father would never have enough time to speak to me about it," Kuon argued and Kyoko watched him. "Is it stupid that I think sometimes my dad doesn't love me?" he asked her and Kyoko paused. She stood up and tried to pull him up. "What are you doing?" he asked her as Kyoko had a glimmer of determination in her young eyes.

"Trust me," she said before Kuon followed her and his heart caught in his throat as Kyoko stood in front of his father. Kuon hesitated and looked around, he didn't know how he could say this to him. He didn't want to cause problems for his father in his job. "Mr. Hizuri?" Kyoko asked and Kuu looked at the two of them. "Kuon has something to say to you?"

Kuu tilted his head to the side and nodded, he crouched down so he could be opposite his son. "Is there something wrong?" he asked the little boy. He knew that Kuon had his pride and wouldn't address matters that might seem silly but this was something Kyoko thought was important.

"Da—Dad," Kuon said nervously. "I can't a-act," he struggled to say to him and Kuu looked very confused. "I keep getting it wrong. I'm not good at it, I feel like I'm suffocating and you're not here and -"

Kuu pulled his son into his arms and rubbed his back, looking at Kyoko with a grateful expression on his face. "Kuon, I'm sorry that I didn't see that. I'm sorry that you're having a hard time," he pulled back and looked his son in the eyes. "Kuon, can we work on it together?" he asked the little boy and Kyoko could see that in this man's eyes, his son was the most important person in his world.

She smiled as Kuon nodded and allowed himself a moment of weakness as he flung his arms around his dad's shoulders and pressed his face into his shoulder. Kuu smiled at Kyoko again as he just held Kuon for as long as he would need to be held.

 **End of Chapter Four**

 **AN2:** Whilst I am grateful for everyone who reads and supports this fic. I really wanted to thank the people who leave reviews. My impression is that everyone is getting busy with school, college, etc. right now and that is why I'm still getting a lot of hits but reviews are very scarce. I'm not trying to demand reviews but I wanted to express my gratitude for those who do, it really does mean a lot to me. Thank you to :: **brennakai, Cheshire2313, Crazy4Animation, Guest, insidebeast, JeremyVD, Kris XD, paulagato, Reader4life, RichkeyZero**


	16. P2 - Chapter 5 - I'm not you, Dad

**AN:** Thank you to everyone who chose to read this chapter, I hope you enjoy it 😊

 **Chapter Five – I'm not you, Dad**

Kuon looked down nervously as he sat down on his bed with his father sitting on the chair and looking over towards where the collapsed wheelchair was as well as the medical supplies that they had wanted to keep just in case and Kuon had said that he wanted to have them to look at to remind himself of his progress. Right now Kuu wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not, he knew something was wrong with his son but he didn't know what.

"So, is it best for me to start talking?" Kuu asked hesitantly as Kuon looked away.

"Haven't you just answered that question for yourself?" he asked before looking down and trembling but he didn't want his father to think of him as incapable or weak. "I'm not like you. I'll never be like you," he saw Kuu flinch at that and looked down. "Don't think of it that way. I'm not saying that I don't want to be like you but I can't. I've always had one hero Dad and that's you," Kuon told Kuu as Kuu looked at him shocked. "I don't know, sometimes I think I'd be better off if…" he sighed and closed his eyes.

"How?" Kuu asked as Kuon bit his bottom lip, "What can your mother and I do to help you –"

"Sometimes I think that the two of you would be so much happier if I was dead!" Kuon yelled but as he saw his father's distraught and horrified expression, he regretted saying that. "Dad, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry. I don't -"

"Kuon," Kuu said as he looked down trying to remain the strong and heroic man his eleven year old needed him to be. "Do you really think that?"

"Dad, it's okay. I know that you're busy with work, we can stop discussing this now. I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry. You're really busy with work and I'm just being ungrateful. I'll work harder and then I won't be a disgrace on the HIzuri name," Kuon said as he looked down. He wanted to punch himself or at least hurt himself for doing this to his dad. It wasn't right. He wished he had never said anything because he could see his father's heart crack when he said that.

"My job isn't something you should be worrying about," Kuu said as he looked at his little boy. "Kuon, you're growing up so fast, I didn't realize," he looked down. "I am sorry, son, but trust me, you are one of the two most important people in my life and I would never feel that way towards you. Do you think that you need to see someone or is this more -"

Kuon looked down, "It's…" he didn't know how to say it. "Dad, can I ask you a question about acting?"

"Kuon, you can ask me a question about anything," Kuu replied before trying to smile, " but if I say that I can't tell you then please trust me," he said. He stood up and went to sit on the bed next to his son just as he had when his kid was a small child.

"Do you think it's worth taking a break?" Kuon asked as his father looked confused, "I mean me. I just…I want to do it so much but I keep getting it wrong. I keep getting told that I'm not Kuu Hizuri. I don't even know what it means to be Kuu Hizuri," he whispered as he started to shake. "Then there are those who think that I'm," he shook his head again. He didn't want his father to feel guilt over how he had been attacked because of his heritage and his ethnic makeup. His dad was half Japanese and half American. He didn't want for his dad to feel responsible. "It's okay."

"Kuon, I…" Kuu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that's happening to you. I can't stop the fact that you're my son but if you want me to speak with the -" Kuu stopped when he saw Kuon quickly shake his head. He could understand that. "Then," he said nervously, "if you don't want me to speak with them, maybe we could find ways of working around the problem."

"Dad, that isn't what you're supposed to be doing," Kuon argued as Kuu looked at him and how tired his son was.

"How about this?" Kuu tried to think quickly to create the best plan possible. "You take a break until you feel better, I don't see anything wrong with that and if you need to go to a therapist then you know your mother and I will pay for that, we'll do whatever we can to help. Take some time to just be happy to be you and then try to go into acting again?" he suggested and Kuon looked down.

"It must have been so easy for you," he told him and Kuu shook his head.

"Not always. I had a couple of rough jobs in the beginning especially with this hair color in Japan," he pointed to the blond strands. "I really wanted to dye my hair but my parents didn't want me to do so. I had to convince them that acting was something that I really wanted and we had arguments over it. Your grandmother really tried to learn the Japanese culture so she would agree with what your grandfather said. However, I was young and bold and I snuck out at night and did things without asking them. I had to prove to my family that I wanted it and eventually they came around and supported me but doing any job is going to ask you to give some sacrifices," Kuu told him and Kuon looked up at his dad and nodded.

"And if I was really crazy? If they told me that I had…" Kuon waved his arm in the air as if scooping up an idea from mid air, "If I had schizophrenia."

"Your mother and I would be standing right there beside you. Even if it turns out you do have some depression, Kuon, that doesn't define you. In my mind you are my son and I love you unconditionally. I want to help you and support you and be there for anything that you might need. I'm sorry that I've been blind but if there's anything I can do?" Kuu said, "I don't want to stand in your way so we'll try to think of something."

Kuon watched his father as he saw him really trying to think about how to address the problem. He knew that if he had said something earlier to prove to his father that he was feeling left out and neglected, that his dad would change his ways. Kuu never meant to be a neglectful parent, but he had become so busy he had lost the chance to be the dad he always wanted to be.

"Dad? Do you…do you think that there's ever a good excuse for fighting?" he asked, "even if someone's been bullying you?"

Kuu paused and turned around to look at Kuon very seriously. "Someone's been hurting you?" he asked in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

Kuon paused, "Only slightly, some small bruises," he said, "Dad, it's okay, don't worry about it, please?" he asked as he saw Kuu looking as if he wanted to hurt somebody in return for them hurting his son.

"Show me," Kuu said as he turned his whole body to face Kuon and the boy's eyes widened. He should have just kept his mouth closed.

…

…

Kyoko smiled up at Julie as she helped her with washing up the dishes from their prep work. She grinned as she managed to clean the bowls and put them back on the counter. She wondered if Kuon and his father were actually making progress. All that she really wanted was to see Kuon smiling and feeling happy again. He deserved that.

As she stayed with Julie in the kitchen, the mother grinned at her. "You're such a great helper, Kyoko?" she told her.

"Thank you," Kyoko giggled as she folded the dishtowel that she was using. "Father has staff who do the kitchen duties, but I do like cooking a lot. I've taken some classes," she smiled as Julie nodded.

"That certainly sounds exciting," she agreed as she started putting the objects in the proper places. "So, what is your favorite thing to cook?"

"Desserts," Kyoko smiled, "Everyone gets excited when they see them and it's nice that everyone is so happy," she said. She was about to continue talking about some of the new desserts that she had been able to make but was distracted by Kuu coming down with a rather serious and scary look on his face, a fire burning in his eyes.

"Honey?" Julie asked as she came over to him and tried to slip a hand onto his cheek and turn his head so that he was looking at her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I have to go out. I have to talk to someone," Kuu said as he created a fist and looked away from her. "Julie, we have to have a talk tonight," he said quietly. "We can't continue on this way, not if we want Kuon to have a future," he said and Julie tilted her head to the side.

"Kuon's fine," she tried to argue and Kuu looked at her.

"Julie, Kuon is _far_ from fine," he said before leaving without another word to her as Julie paled. What did her husband mean by that?

She laughed weakly so as not to alert Kyoko to the situation. "Wow, there's certainly a lot of drama," she said as she tried to sweep it under the rug for the small girl's sake. "That's the thing about family, right? Every day is a different adventure and it's all rather exciting."

Kyoko looked down, "Can I go and see Kuon?" she asked as Julie nodded.

"Just – if he doesn't want to talk then don't force him to, he usually just works himself out of his moods when he has one," Julie said and Kyoko frowned. That certainly didn't seem to be the healthiest way of talking about someone who had a legitimate reason to be upset, yet she wasn't going to argue with a woman who was so kind to her. Kyoko smiled before going up the stairs and to Kuon's room. She knocked on the door.

"Kyoko?" the eleven-year-old asked before he opened the door and looked at her. He looked so nervous and so guilty about the conversation that he and his father had just had.

"Are you alright, Kuon?" the young girl asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"I told him something that I shouldn't," Kuon said and Kyoko blinked curiously.

"Your dad?" Kyoko asked, "What did you tell him?"

"How the director's son said I was a waste of oxygen and that I was worthless…" Kuon said as he looked down. He didn't want to talk about the injuries that he had shown his father, injuries that could easily be covered by makeup and hadn't seemed to have scarred. He didn't know what his dad was going to do, but it most likely wasn't going to be good for anyone.

 **End of Chapter Five**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Special shout out to Chapter Four Reviewers:**

Angeline134, brennakai, Cheshire 2313, CrazyFanYaya, Ela999, Erza3, Glimare, hime3004, JeremyVD, KetriaTM, KrisXD, Kurakuma, KuroiRyoko, insidebeast, paulagato, RichkeyZero, Someone2303, talim258, The Real Jackie-O, twilightserius, youichijiri


	17. P2 - Chapter 6 - Disgraceful Behavior

**AN:** There's some drama in this one but I hope you guys like it. I'm sort of setting it up for the next part of this which might some in a half dozen more chapters or so. Hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter Six – Disgraceful Behavior**

He must have driven down this highway two or three hundred times in his life. He took it to work most days. He was stuck in traffic in it. He knew how to recognize the cars with tourists in them with the everyday drivers. However, this highway looked different to Kuu HIzuri. He didn't know how long this had been going on, but no matter how long it had been, his son deserved so much better.

Kuu tried to calm himself and use a professional attitude but he couldn't believe he had been so stupidly blind and ignorant not to have seen the damage that his son had sustained and to be told that his son thought he was a freak who shouldn't be alive.

He didn't want this life for his child.

Kuon deserved to be happy and to enjoy life especially with what he had been through. Kuu wanted to kick himself, he had _promised_ Kuon that he would take care of him and that he would do less working hours. Of course, things couldn't just be okay with a finger snap. Magic didn't work like that.

He needed to think rationally because punching another man in the face, especially a director, could get him kicked out of showbusiness along with his family. He had to use delicacy with this? Kuu sighed. How was he going to do this?

…..

…..

Kyoko didn't know how to feel. Soon after Kuon's dad had left, his mother had had a call from a designer who needed her to come in for an emergency last outfit fitting so she had called to see if there was any chance of that happening. Julie had gone to talk to Kuon and he had said that he would make sure that Kyoko was safe and he could take care of himself.

So, the two of them were left by themselves.

On one hand, this meant that Kyoko had time to spend with her very special and very important friend without anyone around them. She could try to get Kuon to tell her what was going on with him and his family, she could try to get inside his mind and understand why things had become this bad. However, on the other hand, she could see how shaken up Kuon was about this and how he was trying his best for her to hold himself together.

"Kyoko," he called out to her since he had asked her to stay in the hallway whilst he was in his bedroom. "Do you know how to use the telephone in the case of an emergency?" he called out to her and Kyoko's eyes widened.

"Have you had an emergency? We should let your mom and dad know," she said. "Can I see, Kuon?" she asked but as Kuon stood there nothing seemed to be wrong with him.

"If there's a fire, do you put water on it?" he asked.

"It…depends on…what kind of fire?" Kyoko asked nervously.

"Correct, do you know what happens in an earthquake? Do you know how to handle smoke?" he asked as he threw a backpack over his shoulders and Kyoko looked at him. What was going on here? Why did he have a bag with him and a jacket with stuffed pockets.

"Kuon, what's going on?" Kyoko asked nervously as she studied him.

"I'm leaving," Kuon told her as Kyoko's eyes widened. He couldn't seriously be thinking about running away from home. No. She had come all this way to spend time with him and his family for the holidays and her birthday and now he was running away because he couldn't handle it. He had survived not being able to move his arms and legs, this wasn't as bad as when he had lived through that.

"Kuon! Stop!" Kyoko whispered. "Please, don't do this. Your parents love you and I love…you," she said nervously as Kuon looked at her.

He didn't want to admit that he had a fondness for this little girl himself, "What you have is just a crush, Kyoko, you'll get over it. Little girls get crushes every day it's what they do," he said and Kyoko looked at him, tears appearing in her eyes.

"It's different," she argued, "Look I know that it's not going to be a dating situation and that's fine. I'm not expecting to be your bride like I was with Sho. I know it's silly and stupid and that you can't be my boyfriend and yes, lots of girls around me are stupid but I care about you, Kuon. Why do you think I'm here?"

"If you care about me at all, you will call Boss right now and get him to book you a plane ticket on the next flight home," Kuon told her as Kyoko took a half step back. She didn't think that she'd get this treatment and on her very first night away from Japan. "You're a silly girl who I felt sorry for," he said as Kyoko began to feel the tears in her eyes and down her cheeks. "Go home" he said bitterly and Kyoko looked down.

"Okay, but I know that you're saying these words because you're hurt," she said before wrapping an arm around herself. "That doesn't give you the right to say those things, but you're hurting Kuon and you need to stop hurting and if my going away helps with that…."

"Do whatever you want," Kuon shrugged, "I don't care. I'm just leaving."

Kyoko looked down feeling empty. "I'll be ready for your apology whenever you want to give it," she said to him before he looked away without saying anything and she watched him stumble out into the night. She had to keep repeating to herself that he didn't mean it and that Kuon would never show her his scared and upset side, he had to be tough and prove how strong he was. All she had wanted was to make sure her friend was alright and now, as she heard the door shut, she wondered if he ever would be.

…..

…..

After Kuon had left, Kyoko felt how empty this house was. She didn't know why Kuon's parents hadn't listened to him but she regretted not chasing after her friend. He wasn't thinking right. Yes, he was older than her by four years but for an eleven-year-old to go out into the world alone. No, she _hadn't_ been thinking right. She had packed her own bag and was going to request to speak to her father and go back to Japan, but now she was scared about what Kuon's parents would say and if they would blame her for not stopping him.

She should have said something to stop him. She knew that he was just attacking her because he needed to get out and she was stopping him. She knew that he would never mean to use such cold words if he was thinking clearly so she was going to accept his apology. He was a very important friend to her.

Kyoko had packed her own items and she had pulled out her phone which had the number of the man that her father had sent with her to Japan. After a while of thinking about it, she placed the call.

"Hello, Kyoko-chan" the man answered after two rings, "How are you?"

"I'd like to go back to Japan now. Is there a way of contacting my father?" she asked and the man paused.

"There is, I could secure two plane tickets immediately, however before I do so are you sure that you would not like to stay in America for a few more days?" he asked and Kyoko looked down with a sigh.

"I'd like to go home." Kyoko felt her body shake, she really shouldn't have let him leave. "I'm sorry, I think that I'm causing more problems in Japan than I should be. I'd like to go home," she repeated and the man took a weak but understanding breath.

"I'll be right over to collect you after securing the tickets," he said and Kyoko nodded.

"Thank you," she said before giving her goodbye and then turned the phone off. She walked over to the wall by the stairs and pushed her back against it. She shouldn't have let him go. She should have made him explain. If she had talked to him long enough then maybe she could understand what was going through his head, she could understand what his plans were. Right now, she understood nothing.

After ten minutes or so, she heard the door unlock and her eyes widened. Would that be Kuon? Would he have decided that he had made a huge mistake and he had come back before his parents would notice? Had he understood that there wasn't anywhere that he could go?

She looked up and saw Mr. Hizuri enter stiffly, he looked extremely worried over something and she looked up. He hadn't noticed her when he had come in. She took slow breaths as she watched him run his hand through his hair a few times. Was it best to tell him what was going on?

"Mr. Hizuri," she said as he suddenly turned towards her and approached her, "I've decided to go back to Japan. The man I came with will be picking me up soon and…" she looked down. She knew that she had to tell him. If she had run away then she would want her father to know. "I'm sorry," she whispered as she tried to catch her tears.

"It's okay. I know that there's been too much drama here and I do apologize to you, Kyoko. This isn't the trip that you wanted. I understand that, I just wish that I had realized this before you flew ou-" he said before Kyoko shook her head.

"Kuon's gone," she told him as Kuu looked confused. "He ran off. He said he didn't want to come back. I'm so sorry I couldn't stop him."

Kuu felt his heart stop in his chest for a moment and felt as if he was going to throw up. He wanted to look for his son and see if there was a way of stopping him from going, but he felt a responsibility to wait with Kyoko since she was so young. "Where's Kuon's mother?" he asked and Kyoko shook her head.

"She went out, she asked Kuon if she thought he would be okay and he didn't answer and she left," Kyoko said as Kuu pulled her into his lap so that she could cry against his chest. He didn't want to show how angry he was at Julie. Then again, he had been blind to Kuon's pain as well. They were both in the wrong and he had left Kuon home alone before as well.

He hadn't expected for the little boy to just run off somewhere.

"Kyoko," he said, "Did he leave a note? Did he give any clues as to where he might be going?" Kuu was scared now. Kuon usually didn't want to buy things for himself, he usually just saved his money and he had been given a _lot_ of money over the years. He hadn't needed to take a credit card, he had it all with him which meant he was an easy target.

Kyoko nodded weakly, "I think he left a note," she jumped up and ran over to where Kuon had left an envelope. She gave it to him and Kuu nervously opened it. His eyes widened as he read over the words on the page.

 _Mom and Dad, I'm sorry. I'm sorry to be such a disgrace to the Hizuri name. I hope you can be happier without me. I love you but this is for the best. Goodbye – Kuon_

 **End of Chapter Six**

 **Thank you for Reading**

 **Special Thank You to Reviewers of Chapter Five:**

Cutielove077, Glimare, Hime3004, insidebeast, Kris, lulilafly, Mainaru974, PaulaGaTo, Someone2303, talim258, twilightserius, Yujiro101


	18. P2 - Chapter 7 - Found

**Important AN:** A reviewer pointed out that there should be a **trigger warning** in this chapter since there is a lead up to _child molestation._ I want to give my own author note as well. I updated a fic that I believe was popular yesterday and it got 50 hits, yay but it also didn't get a single review. When things happen like this, (I know that I shouldn't) I feel a bit disrespected as a writer. So, because of this, I'm only going to be updating this fic until I get my feelings on the review situation resolved. I'll be writing but not updating because, hell, nobody really cares enough to leave a review. I've also had fics with over 100 views and no review so I need to figure out how I feel on this. ****

 **AN:** I feel that this chapter doesn't have as much greatness as I hoped but I still enjoy it. I hope you'll like the ending, I had planned to actually expand this scene but for some reason didn't. meh :/

 **Chapter Seven - Found**

What was it now? Christmas Eve? Was that how long he had been here?

Kuon had managed to go unnoticed through Southern California. He had had to make sure to take out enough money in cash and use it very sparingly and keep it very securely. If he made any purchases on a card or had to use his proper name he would get tracked. He needed to make sure to make it unnoticed and then he could figure out how to start a new life for himself without any other people getting involved.

He was glad that he was in San Diego because at least there was water and there was the beach. He always felt better around animals. He would go to the zoo the next day to cheer himself up, but as for tonight he needed to find a place that was sheltered and warm. He needed to find some better security then the box he had slept in the night before.

He knew survival skills. He should be using them. He knew how to camp and take care of himself and live independently.

Kuon looked around and sighed as he was drawn over to a bridge near the boardwalk.

As long as nobody disturbed him it was fine. He could put up with the drug use, he knew enough celebrities who had worked with his parents who had done it. His parents, at least as far as he knew, weren't involved in things like that but they were still people and it might be nice to have someone around on Christmas Eve. He looked down as he thought about Kyoko. Would she be having a nice birthday? He hoped he hadn't spoiled it for her.

As he came over to the bridge, he managed to strategically position himself so he was away from everyone else but that he would be able to keep an eye on them. As he felt his eyes close, Kuon felt a guy who smelled worse than death grab his shoulders.

"You're my Christmas present aren't you?" the man said and Kuon attempted to get away from him. He wasn't strong enough just by wriggling and this scared him.

"Get the hell off of me!" Kuon yelled as he tried to kick the man, he even bit at his hand but there was nothing. He felt the man pin him down and hold his arms behind his back as he ripped his shirt. What on earth was he thinking? He was an eleven-year-old kid, he shouldn't be here.

He felt the man reach into his pants and even though his eyes were open he felt himself caught in a trance.

…..

…..

Kyoko sat alone in her bedroom back at the Takarada residence. She should never have gone to see him because if she hadn't then maybe he would still have his dark and depressing world but he would be with his parents. Maybe his parents wouldn't know what was going on but they would still have him. She had heard from her father that they wanted to find Kuon but they hadn't yet. That meant that he had been by himself for too long. If she had known he was this good at running away, she would have attempted harder to stop him.

She went over to the bed. She knew that her dad had organized a birthday party for her which was joint with the holidays, but she didn't care. The person she would most want to be there wasn't there. He hadn't been found. Kyoko wrapped her arms around herself and attempted not to cry but failed at the task.

Hearing a knock on the door, she lifted her head and saw her father walk in.

"Kyoko, would you like to talk?" he asked her wearing a formal tuxedo and top hat. "I'm sorry that Kuon hasn't been found but I have men searching for him all over California as well as Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon as well."

Kyoko shook her head. She held to a doll of Aurora that she had been given. "If I hadn't have come then he wouldn't be out there alone," she whispered. "I didn't mean to make things worse for him," she said sadly. "Kuon is important to me. He's always going to be important to me but what if…what if he gets hurt?" she asked and Lory hummed.

"I hope he doesn't, but if he does then I hope the authorities can contact his father," Lory said as he sat on the bed and picked Kyoko up, setting her on his lap and wrapping his arms around her. "Kuu and Julie are loving parents. They might not be able to see the whole situation, but there is nobody who can stop them from looking for Kuon. He'll be okay. Let's hope together, okay?"

"Okay" Kyoko nodded as she snuggled into his chest.

…..

…..

Kuon knew how to make himself numb, he knew how to forget about what was happening in the world around him. He closed his eyes and steadied his breaths. At least it was nearly over. He felt a hand on his body and tried harder to create a disconnect before he felt the man get pushed off of him.

"You're dead," a familiar voice said which seemed to be calling Kuon back to reality. "Don't you dare think that you have any future left!" Kuon looked up and saw the flash of blood. He saw a tall man beating the living daylights out of the man who had tried to take advantage of him. He could hear the sound of someone getting dangerously beaten up and he heard the cough of blood. He looked back and saw his father there. His eyes widened.

"D-Dad?" he asked as he looked up terrified.

He heard the homeless man collapse and he saw his dad still wanting to - Kuon stood up before going over to stand in between his father and the unconscious man. He looked up nervously before feeling his dad kick him and he fell. He felt the pain in his back again as Kuu realized who he had just hurt.

"K-Kuon?" he asked before running over to his little boy whilst also grabbing his bag so nobody else swiped it. He didn't know what was in it but he wasn't going to let his son lose anything else. "Kuon," he said as he saw the little boy push himself up and look at him.

"I…I'm so sorry, d-dad" he whispered and Kuu froze again seeing how scared he was.

As his father reached out to him, Kuon could feel blood running down the side of his face. He found the world around him getting blurry and took a few steps back as if about to bolt. Kuu looked at him and without a second thought, grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. He glared at the rest of the people who were staring at him. So what if his career was ending, his son was nearly attacked after leaving due to depression. He was just glad that he was in time.

"Let's get you to the hospital," Kuu said as he looked at the sky above them and saw all the stars gazing down on them. He had never felt so small and alone before. He was a tall and powerful man and yet he had had to go through with the realization of his worst fear, the loss of his son. As he came to the hospital, he looked down.

Kuon had been to the hospitals too many times in his life. He had had to endure too much pain and maybe it was him. Maybe if somebody else was Kuon's father then he wouldn't feel this painful neglect. Everything in Kuu's world had been shaken to the bare bones and they couldn't do anything about it. Maybe he should give up acting for a while, go somewhere where Kuon had a chance to thrive. Would a boarding school work?

Kuu looked down and then picked up his pace as he realized that Kuon had gone unconscious.

Maybe he should have had Kuon adopted when he was a baby. Despite how much he adored his son, he wasn't good for him and he had led him down this dangerous path. He had made his son feel unloved and unwelcome and he had had him talk about being shameful to their family. Kuon was never a disgrace to them.

Kuu approached the front desk and looked at the man. "My son, can you please look at him?" he begged as if he was a lost and lonely puppy, "please. He was just attacked and he ran away from home and he's been out on the streets for days…can you please just look at him?" Kuu begged and the receptionist nodded.

Soon Kuon was in a room with a doctor and Kuu had his head in his hands. He had to call Julie and tell her, she wouldn't forgive him if he didn't, but then he had to make some choices. He looked up and remembered something that Lory had told him a while ago,

 _Now that you're having a child, do you really think that you know about life?_

 _I think that I've got a good grasp on it. I've been able to take a lot of what I've learned in life and channel it towards my acting career. I think that Julie and I will be great parents._

 _So, what would you do if you ever had to choose between your career as an actor and your love of creating roles to perform and your child. What if the only way you could help your child was to give up acting?_

 _That's a very complicated question but there's no answer to it because it will never happen._

Kuu looked ahead of him as the doctor looked over Kuon. Words couldn't describe how much he loved being on the stage and performing different scenes. He couldn't describe the excitement he had when reading over a script, but that wasn't the most important part of his life. He could lose the ability to see and to speak and he would still be able to live a life happily with Julie and Kuon, but there was nothing that would compare to the loss of his son. He felt the world push him down and shook before nodding.

If he had to give up acting for his son to continue to live then that's what he would have to do. He wished there was another way but he couldn't lose his kid. He picked up his phone and called Julie's number. What would have happened if he hadn't been there to protect Kuon? What would have happened if they had never found him.

"Julie," Kuu said in a haunted voice as he sat and stared at the world around him with a blank expression. "I found him."

"Really?" Julie asked as she fell into happy sobs, "Is he – Is he alright? Where are you two?" she said quickly and Kuu looked at the ground.

"We're in the San Diego hospital," he told her, "Julie, we need to talk. I don't think that I'm going to be acting for at least a few months."

"Kuu?" Julie asked and Kuu looked down.

"How do you feel about going back to Japan?" he asked her, "I think that….I think that's a more supportive environment for Kuon to be right now," he whispered and Julie spoke calmly.

"I'll do whatever is best for Kuon," she told him and Kuu nodded.

He just hoped that this was the right decision.

 **End of Chapter Seven**

 **Thank you for reading. Reviews are appreciated but not expected**

 **Thank you Reviewers of Chapter Six**

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	19. P2 - Chapter 8 - Placing the Call

**AN:** Hope you enjoy, thanks for reading.

 **Chapter Eight – Placing the Call**

"So," Kuu said as he looked up at the doctor with a weak smile, "He's going to be alright?" he had to check and then looked down and closed his eyes. He felt so weak and unintelligent. He didn't know how to be a good father. "He's going to -"

"There has been a little damage to his back but he doesn't need any surger—" the doctor replied before seeing the haunted look on Kuu's face. She stared at the man before her and tried to understand why he looked as if she had just said an alien had popped out of his son's chest. "He seems to be okay, maybe a little bit of a cold but being home with you would probably be the best thing for him right now."

"Are you sure?" Kuu asked before seeing Julie run in. Neither of them had slept more than a few hours a night with Kuon being gone. They were also both running on empty.

"Kuu," Julie said as she threw her arms around her husband's shoulders and looked at him sadly. She felt tears in her eyes and bowed her head as she tried to control her tears. "I'm so glad that he's been found, is he…he's okay isn't he?" she asked and looked at the doctor.

"You can take him home in about half an hour, I just want to get the final analysis verified," the doctor smiled to the two of them. "If you'd like to follow me."

Kuu took Julie's hand in his as he looked down and Julie quickly followed after the doctor. She looked at Kuu and saw how much he was blaming himself for what Kuon did. She knew that he was questioning how good of a father he was just as she was questioning how good of a mother she was. She let her thumb run over the back of his hand. Kuu's haunted expression didn't change.

As the door was opened, Julie took a few steps in and then let her anger get the best of her. "What were you thinking running off like that, Kuon?" she asked as the eleven-year-old looked at her in an exhausted manner. "Where did you think you could have gotten to? Where were you headed? You're not even a teenager yet and you think that …"

"I'm sorry," Kuon whispered as he looked at her and Julie tried to keep the tears from falling down her face. "I'm sorry. I really am."

Julie ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a close hug. "Well, young man, you have been grounded for the history of the universe or until I get this pain out of my chest that you're not going to leave again," she told him as Kuon looked up at his father.

"Okay, I'll tell -" Kuon began but Kuu sat down in a chair next to the bed.

"I'm taking some time off from work," he said as Kuon looked at him in shock

"Dad, no, no you can't do that," he tried to argue and Kuu watched him with such pain and torment in his expression. "Dad…please…" he said wanting for his parents to go back to normal. He didn't want to be what was standing between them and their dreams. "Dad, I want you to stay here and be an actor. I want Mom to model. You both love your jobs," he said desperately and Kuu shook his head.

"I can't," he told his son. "As much as you might want me to act, I can't act properly if you're not going to be okay. Boss told me that one day I might have to pick between my job and my family and I choose you and your mother every time." He looked up at Kuon and saw so much shame on his face. "Kuon, I just need to take some time off. I think that I'll go back to -"

"No," the young boy tried to tell his father again. "Dad, you're at the height of your career. I've heard you and Mom talking about what happens when actors withdraw and how it's hard for them to get roles. No. I don't want to be the reason why you can't act. That's what you love doing."

"I love you more," Kuu told him. "I haven't been a good father, Kuon. I'd like to at least try to improve as a parent."

Kuon looked down sadly. He had messed everything up for his parents. He had taken them away from their dreams and he felt as if all he was doing was bringing them pain. He felt that he was hurting everyone around him. After a few seconds, Kuon looked up at his father. "Dad, could I make an international call?" he asked and Kuu paused.

"An interna-"

"Yes," Julie nodded. "I think I remember her telling me that she would be waiting for your apology whenever you wanted for her to hear it."

Kuu nodded and handed his phone to Kuon, "Boss's number is on there."

…..

…..

Kyoko didn't want to call this day her birthday. She felt guilty that everybody around her was celebrating the holidays _and_ her birthday and it was as if she was cursing all of the people who were around her. She missed him, she missed her friend talking to her and her believing that everything between them was going to be okay. She wanted to hug him and celebrate with him. He had given her so much and despite seeing that foul attitude Kuon, she still admired him.

There was a tap on the door and Kyoko looked up at her father holding the phone. She wondered whether it would be somebody else who wanted to wish her a happy birthday. She felt guilty that she wasn't overflowing with happiness, but what if Kuon wasn't with his family.

"Kyoko, did you want to take a phone call from Kuon?" he asked her and Kyoko grinned, her face lighting up the whole room. She nodded eagerly and took the phone from her father.

"Kuon?" she asked and heard a weak laugh that always made her grounded.

"Happy Birthday," he said weakly, "Kyoko. I really don't have a right way of saying how sor—"

"I'm sorry too," Kyoko replied quickly and heard Kuon laugh again. "You're okay, right? You're not hurt?"

"My dad protected me," Kuon told her and then let out a heavy exhale, "I'm sorry, you really…I am so sorry, you're a treasured friend to me Kyoko and I'm really sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry that I ruined your trip and I hope that I haven't completely ruined your birthday. I'm sorry that I said something that cold to you, you _are_ meaningful to me."

"I know," Kyoko nodded as she looked up at her father with tears glimmering in her eyes. Lory looked at her and felt happy that she was starting to gain her confidence again. "Merry Christmas, Kuon," she said as Kuon laughed.

"Christmas Eve here and your birthday is more important. Are you doing anything later?" he asked and Kyoko smiled as she pressed the phone closer to her ear whilst treasuring the phone call.

"Just spending time with family. Father likes watching "The Nutcracker", he's got all these different costumes," she said and Kuon laughed as well. "Kuon, I'm really glad that you're okay."

"And I'm glad that we can still be friends," Kuon said as he took a heavy breath and Kyoko's eyes widened. She opened her mouth wanting to know what that sound meant but she was afraid to ask. "Can we still be friends."

"Yes" Kyoko nodded eagerly, not even with a moment's pause. "You're my very special friend, Corn"

"You're mine too, princess Kyoko," he said and Kyoko smiled. "Kyoko, my dad wants to speak to yours, is that okay?" he asked and Kyoko nodded.

"Yeah, I'll send you an email tonight, be sure to answer it, okay?" Kyoko asked excitedly and Kuon's smile could be sensed over the phone.

"Okay. I promise," he told her and Kyoko grinned. Her friend was okay.

…..

…

Lory sat down in his home office. He had expected for there to be a very serious call from Kuu about what to do about Kuon this day, but he hadn't been expecting to hear the suggestion that Kuu was making. He didn't even know what it would take to achieve it, but Kuon was special to him as well and as much trouble as that little boy had caused everyone, Lory still loved him.

"I know that what I'm asking for is a lot and especially for such a short time but…" Kuu said nervously and Lory sighed.

"You can prepare everything with Kuon's school. I know that there is self-study even for people of his age. It might take some time before he can enroll in a school here. I can arrange for him to -" Lory said and Kuu's weakness was heard from the other end of the line.

"It's fine, whatever is best for Kuon and then I'll pay for it," Kuu said as he had tears in his eyes. "I hate this, Boss. I think that Julie is going to hate it too, but it's for the best to do it now, before anything else were to happen and we can trust you with him."

"Yes, you can trust me to take care of him," Lory said and Kuu felt his heart ache. "Are you sure about this though? If you want me to look out for jobs for you or a house that the three of you could stay in together?" he asked and Kuu shook his head.

"I think for a few months he needs his space, he needs to experience something different and then I'll be there for him when he needs me and we'll come and see him in February for his birthday. Boss, if this is any imposition on you that you don't want then please say no and I'll find another plan."

"I'm up for it," Lory agreed. "I think that young boy is too much like you, Kuu. He needs to find where his feet are and he needs to breathe in the fresh air. I'll do my best to help you three with anything that you might need. I also suggest we don't tell Kyoko yet so she won't get her hopes up."

"There's a present on its way to her," Kuu said quickly. "Wish her a happy birthday from me?" Kuu said as he looked forwards.

"You tell Kuon to get better and I'll see him soon," Lory said before smiling.

These kids were going to be the death of him one day but at least it reminded him of all those romance games.

 **End of Chapter Eight**

 **Thank you so much for reading**

 **Thank you, reviewers of Chapter Seven**

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	20. P2 - Chapter 9 -Goodbye for a little bit

**AN:** As promised, here is the final part of part two of The Little Prince. I really hope you guys like it. Sorry about the brevity, but I recently suffered a head injury leading to a concussion and it's getting a little harder to write but I hope you enjoy this nonetheless.

 **Chapter Nine – Goodbye for a little bit**

Kuon stared in front of him as he listened to his parents. Despite how he had caused them so much worry over the past few weeks, they had done their best to give him a good Christmas Day. He looke down nervously and pulled his knees close to his chest. "Dad, I'm fine," he looked at his father weakly. He saw the doubt in his father's face however. "I'm sorry I ran away but if you need me to be gone that badly."

"I don't want you gone at all," Julie said stubbornly, "This is all your father's idea."

Kuu looked down and closed his eyes, "Kuon, listen to me. We love you. Your mother and I might not have been paying attention to you closely enough and we love you but you need somewhere to go to clear your mind. You know that you always feel much better if you are facing some new location and we don't want to see you go but we trust Boss to take care of you for as long as you need."

"So, I won't see you two until June?" Kuon had to ask them nervously and Julie shook her head.

"We'll be there in February," she told her son without a moment of hesitation. She looked at Kuu and frowned, "I am _not_ going to miss my little boy turning twelve,"

"Of course we'll be there, we love you, we're doing this _because_ we love you, Kuon," Kuu promised him as he picked up a baseball that he and Kuon had played catch with since he was young. He watched his son's confused expression on his face. "If you're not up for it, we'll find another way around it."

"You two really want me to do this?" Kuon asked again and Kuu sighed.

"I want to have you here, honestly, I do, but I want you to be able to spread your wings. As much as I want to see you every morning before I head out to work, I need you to be happy and healthy. I want you to find the special quality that makes you Kuon and then when you're healed, you'll be back and I'll be able to see you every day," Kuu told him as Kuon nodded.

"Okay," he agreed. "It would be nice to have some room to fly."

"Let's think about something else," Julie said as she tried to wipe away the tears that were making their way down her cheeks. "Let's go enjoy Christmas and Kuon," she said softly, "I really am sorry for everything. I'm going to try my best to be the kind of mother that an amazing boy like you deserves."

"You're already incredible, you're my mom," Kuon told her and Julie shook her head.

"Then I'll work on getting even better. I love you so much, Kuon." She took a few deep inhales and let her hand run over the blond strands on his head. How much bigger would he get when he was in Japan? How much of his life would she miss out on?

…..

…..

One week later, Kyoko was arriving home from her art class. She had enjoyed an amazing birthday and had been glad that her friend had even emailed her to show her some pictures of him and his family. She had to admit that though he had a bit of an attitude, Kyoko loved him still. There was something special about him and she was glad that he was acting more like his old self.

Hopefully things would be good for Corn and he would be able to act the way that he wanted to. She was so happy that he was happy again. He had given her so much and she had to forgive someone who had offered her so much. As she got into the house, her eyes took in two large suitcases and she blinked. This must be a friend of her father's who was staying.

She took a few steps into the kitchen and froze as she saw her father there with a huge grin on his face.

"Kyoko, I have news for you. We've taken in a friend for five months of this year. He needs a little break from what he was doing, that's alright with you, right?" Lory asked and Kyoko nodded. All of her adoptive father's friends were really nice to her and she accepted them with her whole heart.

"That's good. I'll do my best to -"

"Hi, Kyoko, is it really alright if I stay here?" Kuon asked as he stood in front of her, he was speaking in fluent Japanese because of course Corn was amazing.

"Cooorn!" Kyoko smiled and laughed happily as she knocked Kuon back with the force of her hug.

 **End of Part Two**

 **Thank you for those who read this fic**

 **Thank you Reviewers of Chapter Eight**

A Musing Brunette, Angel4EverLostInLife, AppleSlices813, bloodyfree, brennakai, Crazy4Animation, Erza, insidebeast, Kris, KuroiRyoko, paulagato, Petite Marie, Someone2303, The Real Jackie-O,


	21. P3 - Chapter 1 - Stars in Their Eyes

**AN:** Not pointing fingers but the reason for the author note was that last time I said that the chapter would be shorter because of a brain injury and some people didn't understand that so I'm glad that I was able to tell you why the update was later than planned 😊 I hope you really enjoy it and thanks for reading.

 **Chapter One – Stars in Their Eyes**

Kyoko grinned as she looked up at the stars with Kuon. It had been a week that he had been here and her father had already explained it to her that Kuon was going to be homeschooled within an independent study program. It wasn't that he couldn't speak Japanese but Kuu had been more interested in furthering his American education.

That meant that sometimes Kyoko wouldn't see Kuon for a number of hours but when she came back it was good for her that she had her precious friend. "So," she said as Kuon pointed out another constellation for them to look at. "Is there something that you're looking forward to?"

"I want to find out who I am," Kuon told her with a weak smile. "I don't want to _just_ be the disappointment of a son that the name Kuon Hizuri gives me."

Kyoko blinked before looking down with a weak smile, "I don't think that's what anyone thinks," she said as she took his hand. "I think that Kuon Hizuri is undefined. I mean, I can think of a lot of good things about you Kuon, but are you really finished in your definition?"

"Let's hope not," Kuon told her and looked at the sky. "I'm glad that I have a friend like you. Doing this alone is quite scary so right now I'm glad that you see me as someone who can fight for what I want," he looked up and then smiled. "Maybe I can make you a constellation."

"You can do that?" Kyoko asked excitedly, "That's a lot of fun. Do you think you can make it a fairy?"

"I'll see what I can do," Kuon nodded before standing up and holding out a hand for her to take, "Let's go inside. I think that dinner should be nearly ready."

"You're going to eat something, right? Everyone except father was worried about you," Kyoko pressed a hand on Kuon's back and steered him into the room. "You need to eat and the food here is delicious. I mean, imagine if you grew up and you were known as fearless but you were afraid of eating."

"That kind of sounds too ridiculous to believe," Kuon said as he played along with the eight-year-old. "Again, Kyoko, thank you."

"Well thank you," the black haired girl grinned and she tilted her head to the side, "Thank you for being such an amazing fairy prince. You're like a big brother figure to me…but you're not my actual bro-"

"You are a wonderful friend who is giving and has such love and kindness in her heart," Kuon said. "I don't see you as a little sister, I see us as friends but I'm glad that I give the positive feelings to you as if I was a protective older brother."

Kyoko smiled but then her attention peaked, "Kuon, we're doing a small cultural festival at school in a month or so. Do you think that you'd be able to come. I'm showing people my artwork and -"

"How can I say no to something like that?" Kuon smiled to her and Kyoko grinned as she noticed his happiness. Seeing him here, seeing him so alive gave her strength. She would never be able to give up on their friendship. Something was special about Kuon and she wanted to do her best to make sure that it didn't go unacknowledged.

As they came indoors, Kuon looked to see Lory watching the two of them and smiled as he dropped down into a bow. Lory smiled at him as Kyoko came and stood in front of him with an adorable smile over her face. "Dad," she said before looking over at Kuon. "Is it time for dinner?"

"Soon," Lory said as he watched Kuon who was still somewhat of an introvert. "You don't need to act all formal here. You've known me since you were a toddler," he told him as Kuon smiled and looked down. "Have you been completing all the school work Kuu arranged for you."

"Yes," Kuon nodded, "Thank you for giving me that room for growth. It means a lot to me."

"You are too much like your father," Lory told him with a grin before he stood there with a proud smile on his face. "I do have to see one of your father's old friends though. Is that something you'd be interested in going to with me, Kuon?" he asked and Kuon looked down.

"I really don't want to be in the way and with my father -" Kuon looked away and Kyoko took his hand and squeezed it.

"Kuon will tell you tomorrow morning," she attempted to smile. "He's still settling in, right, Kuon?"

"Yes," Kuon nodded as he tried to think of how he could go into the acting world without smearing mud all over his father's name. Shuuhei Hozu was a mega star in this country. All of his accomplishments should be given the honor and respect that they deserve.

…..

…

"I miiiiiss him," Kuu said as he sat at the table early in the morning. He looked ahead of him where Julie had set a bowl of coffee.

He smiled to her before looking over at a stack of books that he had bought after getting some recommendations from people he knew in the acting field. All of them were about teenagers and the most common problems that they faced whilst growing up. There were also some books he had subtly bought about surviving physical trauma as well as depression. He wasn't going to miss out on his son again. He looked over at the books and saw Julie give him a firm look as she sat down opposite him.

"Kuu, you're the one who arranged for him not to be with us," Julie told him and looked up, "If he doesn't come home then I will get angry at you but I have to admit that he needs his space and at least he calls us every night."

"He calls you, last time I wasn't here," Kuu pouted.

"Well it's nice to hear his voice," Julie smiled. "You could always call him, you know," she smiled and Kuu grinned excitedly.

"He won't mind it, right?" Kuu asked excitedly and Julie kissed his cheek again.

"I'd give it a chance. He loves you so much. You've always been his hero."

Kuu smiled before checking the time on his watch and picked up the phone before going into his office to call his old friend. As he sat in the office he looked at pictures of him and his son. He kept getting scared about what Kuon was getting into and if there was any danger to him. He kept thinking about the sadness that his son had been through and he hoped that his son wasn't giving up on life. Kuon meant so much more to him than his acting career and the idea that he wouldn't really be able to hold him every day until the summer hurt but maybe that's what was needed.

…..

…..

After they had eaten – and Kyoko had made sure that Kuon actually ate _something_ – Kyoko had taken Kuon into her art room. This was the place where she could draw pictures of fairies and make collages and do arts and crafts projects and nobody would bother her. This was where she allowed her creativity to take flight and all of the lace and ribbons and pastels showed her love for princesses and for fairytales.

Kuon looked across at a dollhouse that she was working on and smiled. It was so elegant inside and much more like a fairytale palace than even Takarada could employ people to make his place. There were so many intricate details and everything had had so much care taken over it. It was very impressive what it _could_ look like.

"Do you imagine living in a place like this one day?" Kuon asked as he looked into the different rooms and saw how thoughtful Kyoko had been. He caught a glimpse of her notebook through one of the windows and his eyes widened as he saw a few hearts with his name on it. He didn't know how to react to that.

"Well, that would be a really nice fairytale," Kyoko grinned happily. She closed her eyes as she thought about it. "Maybe one day I'll have a husband who supports my artwork and he'll let me have an art studio inside of our house."

"That sounds nice," Kuon nodded, "I bet that you're going to get a lot of people wanting to be your -"

"I've only got my eyes set on one prince," Kyoko grinned before looking at the house and Kuon sighed. Honesty was the best for this right? He took a step away and saw Kyoko pick up the unicorn and smile to herself. "Mrs. Kyoko Hizuri," she whispered and Kuon froze. Okay, honesty was most definitely better in this situation.

"Kyoko, I can't just be your prince. I do care about you but there are so many barriers. I can't be your prince but I can be your knight. I can make sure that all of the bad guys keep away from you until it's time for me to return to America."

Kyoko blushed, "Thank you," she told him. "You're my good friend Corn. I don't want anything else but for us to be friends."

"And for me to be your knight?" Kuon asked as he took a few steps towards her and wrapped her up in his arms. "I'll tell you what, when it comes to a time when I'm twenty-two and you're eighteen and we fall in love, I would feel honored to be your prince," he said to her and Kyoko blushed.

"You're amazing, Kuon," she said, "but just to have you as my friend is beyond good enough. I'm very lucky to be your friend."

Kuon smiled before hearing someone at the doorway and looked up to see one of the maids.

"Kuon-san, your father's on the phone for you," she said as Kuon grinned back to Kyoko before following the maid. He didn't know how to tell his father how happy he was that he had called. It made him feel wanted.

That was definitely the same feeling that Kuon had given Kyoko.

She felt like he wanted her friendship.

He wanted her in _his_ life.

 **End of Chapter One**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you reviewers of Chapter Nine**

Ai phing, A Musing Brunette, Ashenvale, Erza, Glimare, Guest, insidebeast, Kris, Ktoll9, KuroiRyoko, Mercedes1312, misherukuro, RichkeyZero, Someone2303, SweetJaneP's, Undertheskys,

 **Also, please do not try to crack open a safe with your skull. You may get a concussion which will continue two weeks after the event has happened. Be safe!**


	22. P3 - Chapter 2 - A Special Somebody

**AN:** Hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm planning on aiming to update this fic twice a week instead of just once because of all the love and support from everyone. Thank you. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

 **Chapter Two – A Special Somebody**

Kuon nervously took the phone to the bedroom that had been set up for him to stay in, "Dad?" he asked in English as he walked towards the bed. He was a little nervous about why his father was calling him. It was stupid, but he had had so many bad dreams about his dad telling him how ashamed of him he was and of his father looking at him with disgust. He hadn't wanted to admit the fear he had of disappointing his loving father.

"Kuon, it's good to hear your voice," Kuu said as Kuon imagined his smile. He sounded happy. "How are you? How's Japan?"

"It's okay," Kuon replied quickly. "I…I haven't explored a lot of it. Kyoko took me to some of her favorite spots including an ice cream shop. I've been trying my best to grasp all of the kanji…umm…boss says that I've done really well so far and that I learned in a week what he thought it would take a month to learn."

He could hear his father relax a bit as he said that, "It makes me happy to hear that you're grasping it so quickly. I expect it's in your blood," he said as Kuon laughed weakly at that. He felt his chest tighten as he realized how much he missed his dad. That was so much like a little kid. He should be stronger and braver than that because if his dad sensed his anxiety that would make him even more disappointed.

"Dad, I'm sor-ry," Kuon said in a weak voice and mentally kicked himself for letting his voice break.

"You're sorry? You're not enjoying Japan, if that's the case then we can always think of another plan. Is there anything that I can -" Kuu tried to say in a comforting manner and Kuon could imagine the nervousness his dad felt. He wondered what kind of expression that would be.

"I…I disappointed you," he told his father and heard Kuu take a shocked inhale. "I'm really sorry."

"No." Kuu said weakly, "Never. You're my son, Kuon. I love you with all of my heart and my love will never fade for you. You haven't disappointed me at all. Are you okay? Did something happen?" he asked and heard Kuon sniff over the phone as the little boy tried to stop any tears from falling. "Kuon? What's wrong?"

"I messed up. I couldn't get the acting roles right. I disgraced the HIzuri name. I'm so sorry, Dad" he apologized again hating that his dad could hear all of this. Saying this would only burden his father. "I thought you weren't talking to me because I…"

"Kuon, you are my lovely son," Kuu said in a way that was hard to argue with. "You mean so much to me. You and your mother are the most important part of my life and I would never disown you. Even if you did something illegal, you are still my child, my adorable son who I care about with all of my heart. Don't ever think that I'm not talking to you because I don't want you. There's nothing that could be further from the truth."

Kuon took deep breaths as he let the words sink in, "I love you, Dad. I just don't want to let you down again. I wanted to talk to you but there's not much that I -"

"You pick a time, Kuon, and I will make sure that we can have at least ten minutes to talk to each other at that time and longer if you need it. I love you. If these phone calls are what you need then I will definitely make time to call you each and every day," Kuu promised with so much love in his voice as well as the longing to have his son in his life. These calls would help both of them.

"Maybe at three for me?" Kuon asked and thought about it, "In the afternoon?"

Kuu smiled. That would mean making time every night to call Kuon which was definitely a way to cool down after a hard day's work. Hearing that Kuon was doing alright every night would lead him to better sleep. "Deal," he said as Kuon relaxed.

"Thanks Dad. Uh…boss asked me something and I wanted to check with you," he said nervously and then looked down. "Boss said that he wanted to introduce me to one of your acting friends over here and I…I didn't know if I should go. I don't want to shatter the Hizuri image."

Kuu didn't hesitate in his answer, "If they can't accept my son, Kuon, then they are no friend of mine. Did Boss tell you who it was?"

"Saiga Keitaro," Kuon said nervously.

"Go see him," Kuu said, "He's not going to be unkind to you and if he is then he's not the person that I thought he was. He's gone through a lot himself, that might be the reason why Boss wants you to see him."

"If I disappoint you again…" Kuon said sadly before hearing his father's strong and confident voice.

"That's impossible. So, what else did you want to talk about?" he asked and Kuon looked down with a weak smile.

"Are you and mom okay?" he asked.

"We're good. We miss you a lot but we're going to do our best to support you. Whatever you need, Kuon, you just reach out for us and we can see what we can do. We both love you with all of our hearts."

"I love you too," Kuon smiled, "Thanks for calling, Dad. So you'll call tomorrow?" he asked and Kuu gave an exhale showing how relieved he was.

"I'm going to schedule it on my phone so I don't forget. You take care of yourself, okay? If you need _anything_ even if it's in the middle of the night, you can call and your mother and I will do whatever we can. I'll see you in February, but if you need either of us before then…"

"I'll tell you," Kuon said before holding the phone and smiling as he ended things with his father. Maybe he hadn't let them down as much as he had believed that he had.

…..

…..

Kuu looked at Julie as he ended the phone call. He had a relieved smile on his face and Julie could tell it was a good conversation.

"So," Julie beamed, "How is he? You look as if the two of you had a good conversation." Julie wrapped an arm around herself, she didn't want to talk about how much she now missed her little boy and everything that she was doing to reflect on her mothering and try to improve it. She knew that they had spent more time with Kuon when he was younger and one of her friends had said that it was easy to forget about one's older child because they weren't as cute or sweet.

She had to make sure that they could all be together happily. She looked over to her husband and reached out for his hand. "Do you think that we could go camping again this summer? I know that Kuon loves being in the wilderness and I think that I could handle it."

"Do you mean that you want to get an RV and go somewhere?" Kuu asked, "You usually worry about the insects out there and getting dirty. I mean, we've been as a -"

"I know that I'm an amazing model," Julie smiled at him, "but for the sake of our family I can get a little dirty. Besides, when we went when Kuon was seven, who was it that made sure that the tent was up securely. I want to go with the two of you."

"I think that's an amazing idea," Kuu smiled happily, "I'll look up camp grounds tomorrow and see if there's any place where we can see the birds and wild animals. Maybe we could have a family vacation to Kenya or South Africa."

Julie raised an eyebrow, "How about Australia?" she asked and Kuu kissed her forehead.

"I think that Kuon would love to go to Australia," he told her before trying to think if there was a way of going to multiple countries so that they could really show Kuon the wildlife that he always got excited about. Maybe making sure to spend more time together as a family was what would help Kuon the most.

It was time to prioritize values in this family and as far as he and Julie were concerned, Kuon's happiness and health had to rank first.

…

…

Kyoko smiled as she entered her elite school that morning. She had heard from Kuon that the talk with his father had gone well and he had decided to go with her father and see the old friend that had been mentioned. The way that Kuon had been after the phone call made her happy. He had such hope and determination in his eyes that he was really going to try to be happy.

Well, if anyone had the ability to make Kuon happy then it was the king. He had always been nice to her and now that he was opening his eyes to see into Kuon's world, he had the potential of being one of the best dads ever. She was hoping that when Kuon went home, he would be happy.

She wanted him to be happy and for them to be friends. Despite their age difference, they got along very well and he hadn't teased her or acted angry that she had a crush on him. She knew that he didn't feel that way about her but there was always hope for the future. She waved to a couple of her friends as she entered the classroom and sat down at her desk. She organized her items to start the morning lesson and saw three of the popular boys whispering before one of them, Ryuu, approached her.

"Kyoko-chan," he said as she looked at him before nodding. She always felt a bit awkward when any boy other than Kuon called her by her first name. Her two best friends were girls and it always felt easier to talk to girls. "How are you today?"

"I'm alright, Kawamoto-kun," she said to him. He was probably the most popular boy in the class. He reminded her of Shotaro, well if Shotaro had a better attitude. "How are you?"

"Would you like to go get ice cream this afternoon, Kyoko-chan?" he asked and Kyoko's eyes widened and she looked down awkwardly.

"No, thank you for the invitation though. I have somewhere where I have to go," Kyoko tried to tell him as she heard her two friends gossiping between themselves.

"I want to sit with you at lunch, Kyoko-chan," he said and Kyoko's eyes widened and she looked down nervously. Was he going to tell her - "I'd like you to be my girlfriend."

"Umm, no thank you," Kyoko said nervously. She really hated to disappoint people but she had a special somebody of her own. It didn't matter that Ryuu was popular and that he had chosen her to ask. It didn't matter that he would most likely treat her nicely. She had someone who, though the odds were against them getting together, she still treasured more than anyone else.

"Do you have someone else you like?" Ryuu asked surprised and Kyoko nodded.

"Yes. He's my knight," she told him with a smile. She saw him walk away and blushed. He might not be her prince but he _was_ her knight and maybe someday she would let go of her love for him in this way and her hope that they would be together but that wasn't yet. She wasn't ready to be with anyone else apart from her knight in all of his sparkling armor which reflected that amazing smile she hoped to see more of.

 **End of Chapter Two**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to Reviewers of Chapter 3.1**

A Musing Brunette, Erza, insidebeast, KrisXD, KuroiRyoko, Mainaru974, misherukuro, Paulagato, Petite Marie, RichkeyZero, Royiah, Someone2303, Tabbykatroses, zeynel


	23. P3 -Chapter 3- Dreams and Disappointment

**AN:** I hope you enjoy. There's not a lot of movement in this chapter but I hope you still like it anyway 😊

 **Chapter Three – Dreams and Disappointment**

Kuon nervously stood behind Lory as he spoke to the Japanese actor who was a few years younger than his father. He hated being so nervous because he had been around many of his parents' friends and none of them had ever seemed to have a problem with him. That made this morning a little strange for him to feel this way. He smiled as he heard Lory have a conversation with him and then Keitaro's gaze shifted to him.

"Wow, I hope it's okay to say, but you look so much like Kuu," Keitaro said with a smile as Kuon bowed and then looked up.

"Pleased to meet you. Honestly, I'm not that much like my dad," he said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. He tried to smile weakly as he stiffened. He had to make a good impression on behalf of his father who wasn't there. His conduct could reflect negatively on his father and mess with the Shuuhei Hozu image.

"I get it," Keitaro smiled, "You're your own person just as Kuu is. I don't think you remember but I saw you when you were tiny. Your parents think the world of you," he told Kuon who looked down.

"Ye-Yes," he said as he tried to control his nerves. He didn't know what was so special about him that his parents were always so inconvenienced by his actions and his being. He caught Lory staring at him confused and a little concerned. "Thank you."

"You're a shy one," Keitaro said. "So, I guess you're not going to be an actor like your parents. Any thoughts on …"

Kuon continued to look at the ground. He knew that this famous Japanese actor hadn't meant to say things like that. He knew that he was trying to be kind to his friend's son and he didn't know what he was saying but it was true. He wasn't ever going to be a famous actor like his father was. He was never going to have that kind of skill. He should have given up on trying to be an actor already.

"I still have to think," he said as Lory watched him but then smiled at Keitaro.

"Don't you see a star when they are standing in front of you?" Lory laughed, "He's going to be an amazing actor one day. The boy's only eleven, he needs a lot of time to polish his skills but he's going to be a first-class actor one of these days."

"Good to hear," Keitaro smiled. "Your dad told me that you were really outgoing and -"

"I'm sorry," Kuon bowed again. "I'm afraid to disappoint my parents. My mother and father mean a lot to me and recently all I've been doing is disappoi-" he caught himself and stared down at the ground. He was going to start going on and on about how much of a burden he was to his parents.

"You think you're going to disappoint _the_ Shuuhei Hozu?" Keitaro smiled. "There's a lot about your dad that you still need to learn. The way that he always talks about you and your mom, that guy is a very loving father. I wouldn't stress about disappointing him because I doubt you'll be able to do it without intending to do it. I know your dad loves you and wants the best for you because I knew him before he was Kuu to everyone else. That guy…" Keitaro shook his head, "he's not the type of person to lose faith in people easily and especially not his family."

Kuon laughed, "I want to act," he finally said. "I've just…"

"Then what you've got to do is just act. You can say you want to do something as much as you want but you have to test it out. There are all these auditions for kids your age as well, why don't you try those out, be a temporary LME actor," Keitaro suggested before he turned to Lory.

"I've always wanted to nourish his acting talent," Lory said as he looked down on the preteen. "I mean, going out into the world and acting. I'm just hoping that he can become one of Japan's favorites instead of going back to Hollywood but he's definitely an American," he said as Kuon nodded.

"I think I need to train some more before I try again," Kuon told him and Keitaro nodded.

"Training is always good. Have you asked your father about the training courses at LME? There's an audition to get in but there are so many people in the acting field who get their start at those schools. You'd be able to get him an audition, right, president?" he asked and Kuon smiled, his eyes showing his excitement at being able to go to the school. Maybe he wasn't ready to step onto the stage at this time or even a set but honing his craft might be just what he needed.

"Of course, I'd ask your father about it tonight," Lory told him as Keitaro gave a thumbs up to Kuon.

"Now we're getting somewhere, I feel like I'm looking at a superstar in the making," he said as he saw Kuon start to show the person that he was underneath all of that fear of disappointment. This was going to be good for the kid and whatever was good for Kuon was going to be good for Kuu as well.

…

…

Kyoko smiled as she came out of her school. She sometimes walked with her friends but today she felt happy to be by herself. She thought about what Kuon was most likely learning and wondered if she would ever be good as an actress. She was surrounded by so many people who were part of the acting world but she didn't really feel it was for her. She had also debated on becoming a singer but that didn't seem to suit her either. She loved her art and crafts. She loved picturing a better and brighter world.

She loved nature and nature always reminded her of that fairy prince that she had met in the woods in Kyoto.

As she looked up, she saw some birds in one of the bird houses that students had built. She wondered how it was to be a bird and to be able to fly so high in the sky. Maybe she would never meet a fairy but she believed that they were out there. Maybe the fairy council went around riding the birds and they just couldn't see them.

Kyoko smiled again as she watched the birds and though to herself. Kuon _loved_ birds. Of course, Kuon loved all nature and animals and he was a warm-hearted person who always thought about others. Birds though, he had pointed some out to her and told her that he had once had a little bird guide where you wrote down the date you saw that particular bird. Kyoko was interested in interior design herself and a bird house was just that a house for birds. Maybe if they were to build a bird house together then they would both have fun.

She wanted him to have so much fun whilst he was here and though she knew that she would never find a way to cure his depression alone, she could help distract him and make the time he spent in Japan with her memorable. She smiled before taking out a sketchbook and drawing the different birds that she saw.

If birds were this important to Kuon then she really wanted to draw some pictures that he would love. One day she might even be able to bring up her courage and ask him if she could draw his portrait. She hoped that he would be here for that long. Secretly she would want him to stay here forever. She would want them to always be near one another and able to help one another, but he lived in America and she didn't want to tear him away from his parents. They hadn't been the best before but they were trying very hard to make up for their mistakes.

Kyoko smiled as she sketched the wings of the birds. They could fly so freely. She got out some colored pencils before starting to work her magic in bringing the birds to life. She was always praised for her artistic skills and maybe this was a gift that she could share with Kuon. As she finished her drawing she heard a voice behind her and looked back to see one of her schoolfriends.

"That's a wren," the girl grinned as Kyoko nodded.

She'd give this picture of a wren to Kuon and maybe he would hold onto it and treasure it. She wanted to explain that she wanted him to fly as freely as a wren working his own magic. That was his importance to her.

…..

…..

Kuon smiled as he tried to think calmly whilst watching the phone. He had already told Boss about the fact that he had arranged these phone calls with his father, he just hoped that his dad wouldn't forget or that he wouldn't be inconvenienced by it. Kuon looked nervously at the clock as it moved to the hour and he heard the phone ringing. He checked the caller ID and smiled as he saw the name Hizuri.

He picked up the phone, "Hello, this is Kuon," he said quickly before smiling as he heard his father's voice.

"Hey, it's Dad" Kuu said as Kuon kept both hands on the phone. "How are you? Did you have a good day today?"

"I did. How are you and Mom?" Kuon asked as he tried not to think of his father staying up this late to call him. He wanted to try to think about what his father's friend said about him not being a disappointment to his family. It was hard to keep it from his mind though.

"We're doing well, we're thinking about taking a family vacation this summer," he said as Kuon smiled.

"Are you sure that's alright? If you and Mom have work that -" Kuon protested.

"It's all taken care of, both of us want to spend this summer as a family. It's been a long time since we've been out in nature together and we're learning. Both of us are learning how to prioritize our family," Kuu smiled. "How do you feel about Australia?"

"That would be amazing," Kuon said before looking down, "Is Mom there?"

"She is," Kuu nodded. "I think she's trying to imagine both -"

"Can you put me on speaker phone?" Kuon asked as he looked at his feet and tried to not feel homesick. He loved his parents and he always felt that his family loved him no matter how much he screwed up. It wasn't as if he was a teenager yet and not even two years ago, he was dealing with not being able to move his arms and legs. Home felt safe as much as he felt insecure.

"Hi darling," Julie smiled as Kuu put the speaker on. "How are you?"

"I'm doing better," Kuon told them. "There was something that I wanted to ask for…"

"Sure, darling," Julie smiled. "Go ahead and ask. Your father and I will do everything we can to help you. Did you want one of us to fly over there. I can be on the next flight if you want."

"No, it's…" Kuon said as he listened to them, "Can I go to the acting classes for the younger students at LME?" he asked and he heard Julie laugh softly whilst Kuu gave a sigh of relief.

"Definitely" Kuu nodded. "You just tell us what you need from us. I know you'll do amazing at those classes. I hope that Keitaro -"

"He motivated me," Kuon admitted quickly. "He told me that I wouldn't disappoint either of you. It was nice to hear him say that."

"Never," Kuu said, "I am never going to be disappointed in you."

"We're so proud to be your parents," Julie added as Kuon smiled. Those were just the words that he needed to hear.

 **End of Chapter Three**

 **Thank you for Reading**

 **Thank you Reviewers of Chapter Two**

A Musing Brunette, biteythevampire, Crazy4Animation, Erza, Guest, Insidebeast, Kris, ktoll9, paulagato, RichkeyZero, Someone2303, sunshinehat, talim258, Undertheskys,


	24. P3 - Chapter 4 - The Future We Seek

**AN:** So, good news, my concussion is clearing up nicely. Bad news, I got a cold so updates are slower again. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. I also added in something about Kanae since that was a request that I got a lot. Also, if you're reading this could you please not comment on the length of my chapters. I do my best to try and write at least 2,000 words per chapter and I really take it personally when people say they're too short. Sorry for asking that, hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter Four – The Future We Seek**

"So, what do you want to do with your life?"

That was the question posed to Kyoko by her art teacher that day whilst at school. She knew that she was good at art and she enjoyed it but would it be enough to give her full satisfaction forever. With her father being the president of a large agency, she would always have enough money and connections to survive within any industry but was it enough.

Maybe she could work on set design or maybe she could teach herself more about fashion and work as a fashion designer. Fashion always seemed nice. Whilst she was growing up she hadn't been able to have all the wonderful clothes that other girls did and she had enjoyed the projects that she had set for herself. That was something to consider since she did like making accessories.

She tried to think of what types of outfits she would make and what roles the acting world would have which she could design for. She wanted to make girls feel like princesses and she wanted to make the rich ladies elegant. She smiled as she tried to find something that she could start on and experiment with. One of the famous actors at LME had been acting in a foreign film and she was hearing information on the Western look but that didn't feel right. She didn't want to design for grown-ups.

Maybe she could design a piece for herself to wear. Maybe she could think of all of the birds and flowers that Kuon had taught her about and design something based from that. She could do a floral skirt or dress that she could wear _after_ work. As she walked along she heard footsteps beside her and looked up.

"Hey, I hoped I'd catch your attention, let me take your bag for you," Kuon grinned to her and Kyoko shook her head with a small grin.

"No, I'm fine. What are you doing here? I thought that you were doing your -" Kyoko tried to protest but Kuon shook his head.

"I'm good. My school work is all finished for the day and I don't have my call with my dad for another half hour," he said as they were ten minutes away from the house. "You didn't have one of Boss's guys drive you? I'm sure that the car feels better than -"

"I like being out in nature," Kyoko laughed, "or walking, my friend got home about five minutes ago so we were walking together," she grinned. "Plus, I don't think that _you_ could sit very still in a car with a driver."

"Yeah, but then I'm nearly a teenager," Kuon winked, "We don't do things like that. It's not as cool as walking home on your own. When I was younger I used to skateboard everywhere. Trust me, I thought I was amazing but everyone was doing it."

"Why did you give it up?" Kyoko asked and Kuon smiled.

"I might pick it up again in the future but I'm really nervous to do it after the accident. It took a lot of time to get out of that wheelchair and I definitely don't want to go back in." Kuon grinned before he looked up at the sky. "I might get back into athletics more or acrobatics but I know that that's going to be something my parents will be hesitant for."

"Your dad might not like that," Kyoko nodded as she imagined Kuu having a lot of fear for Kuon hitting his head again. "Kuon, do you want to be an actor when you grow up?" she asked and Kuon nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. It's really exciting to act but you have to make sure to take it seriously. Dad's always told me that you need discipline, maturity, and a good work ethic to make it in acting as well as talent and to get along with others. Acting is really difficult in America so I have to get even tougher," he said before looking at her. "Why, are you interested in acting?"

"I don't think I'd be very good as an actress," Kyoko blushed before taking another look at the sky. "I was asked what I wanted to do with my life by my art teacher and I didn't know how to respond so now I'm thinking about it more seriously."

"They ask you at your age over here? Wow, Japanese school system is pretty strict. I thought it was just career day for little kids and when you get to high school," he commented before tilting his head to the side. "Did you think of anything?"

"Well just…small things but I think maybe fashion," Kyoko said nervously as she looked down and Kuon grinned.

"You'd be amazing at it," he nodded, "You've got such an artistic eye. I showed my parents that picture you drew for me and then signed and they loved it. They believe in you almost as much as I do. Whatever you need, I'll do my best to help you," he smiled and Kyoko blushed again.

Maybe they could do something together. Maybe she could really make an outfit and then they could go somewhere and she could see how people responded to it. Maybe she could go out with her friends and get their opinions. She paused suddenly and noticed that Kuon wasn't beside her and instead he was looking at a flyer on a sign.

"Kuon?" Kyoko asked as she approached him and looked up to see it advertising an elementary school play with Erika Koenji. Kyoko paused and frowned. Wasn't that some company name? Did school's do productions like this? Maybe. "I think that school's nearby."

"Would you like to go together?" Kuon asked and Kyoko blinked before nodding excitedly as Kuon wrote down the information on the paper. Was it strange for school's to advertise like this? Maybe he was a bit more skeptical because of his own experiences. "It's just before my parents come too."

"Your parents…" Kyoko said before grinning and grabbed Kuon's arm excitedly. "It's your birthday soon, isn't it? We have to do something to celebrate together. I have to get you a gift. It's so exciting."

Kuon smiled at how cute she was being, "I'm sure my parents have plans. You know my dad's really trying to improve as a parent and get to know me. It'll be sad when the summer gets here and I'll go back home."

"Yeah," Kyoko nodded, "but I don't want to think about you leaving. I want to think about all the things we can do together."

Kuon smiled before looking up at the sky. He turned to her and opened her arms out to her. She excitedly ran towards him and hugged him close. "I'm so glad that I get to have a friend like you," he said as Kyoko smiled and nodded. Their friendship really was a gift.

…

…

Lory had been staying up late playing a romance game when he saw the light on in Kuon's room and frowned. He didn't know what the little boy had been doing but he knew that he had to take steps as a temporary guardian for him. As he approached the room he heard a sound as if Kuon was crying. He knocked on the door and heard the crying stop for a moment before the door was opened and he saw Kuon attempt to lean on a chair and act as if everything was cool.

"Hey, Boss," he said as Lory watched him suspiciously. "I'm sorry that the -"

"Kuon," Lory told him slowly, "Is everything alright? Nothing is going -"

"No. Nothing's going on in here. Everything is fine. I'm sorry the light is on," he said and Lory raised an eyebrow as he noticed that Kuon wasn't moving from where he was holding the chair. Was he supporting himself with it?"

"Everything doesn't seem fine. Now, I might not be your dad but if you're hurt then -"

Kuon looked down and smiled weakly. "I thought it was only a minor thing," he lied, "it is, I mean I know it's only a minor thing but I think I bruised my shoulder."

Lory looked at him and nodded. He knew that after the accident and how lucky Kuon was to be alive that any bruise to his back should be looked at and given more care. He would give Kuon the benefit of the doubt and keep a close eye on him but he wanted to make sure that somebody had seen this. "Does it hurt?" he asked and Kuon attempted to lie, shaking his head firmly.

"No, it's fine," Kuon whispered and Lory frowned as he watched him.

"Can I see? If it's fine, I want to double check that everything is alright," he said and Kuon sighed before showing that there was a bruise on his upper back. Kuon looked down at the sheets. He hadn't actually seen the bruise but he had accidentally hit the wall too hard and then his nerves started tingling. He looked up at Lory before he hummed.

"It's a bruise, it'll probably take some time to completely heal but the more important question is, who is going to be the one to tell your father about it, you or me," Lory said and Kuon's eyes widened again.

"Dad doesn't need to know, right? You don't need to -" he panicked but Lory gave him a stern look.

"You got hurt under my watch, Kuon," he said "Your father and I have been through a lot together and if I let his precious son get so much as a bruise under my watch and I don't tell him about it, well he's going to be hurt from it. You know your father as well as I do and you know that he or your mother would want to know."

Kuon looked pale for a moment before nodding, "I'll call him," he whispered nervously as he felt a pain from his past injury.

"I'll get you the phone and some ice," Lory told him knowing that he'd have a talk with Kuu the next day and explain how if anything had happened, he would have taken Kuon immediately to the hospital himself.

He sure did care about that kid.

…..

…..

Kuu had been taking chance to sleep in later than usual. Today he didn't have anything until mid-morning but it was surprise for him to wake up to his phone rather than his alarm clock. As he finally managed to get his mind set to the external sound he paused realizing that this was the special ringtone he had in case either Kuon had to contact him or Lory did. He grabbed the phone with shaky hands and accepted the call. "Hello," he said sounding a little out of breath and heard a tentative voice on the other side.

"Dad, I'm sorry that I..I…I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Kuon asked him nervously and Kuu let himself take deep breaths to relax. He didn't want anything to deter Kuon from calling him.

"No, I'm fine. Early morning workout," Kuu lied before rolling his eyes. Kuon really did pick up too many of his bad traits. "How is it – is everything?"

"Everything's fine but I bruised the back of my shoulder. It's fine though, there's just -" he said nervously but Kuu spoke before he could finish.

"How close to the original injury site?" he asked and Kuon blinked before there was a pause and Kuu could hear his son get up.

"I don't think it's too close, it just pulled on my nerves and Boss was worried and he's going to keep an eye on it and it's okay, but he thought that you should know."

Kuu smiled, "Okay. Keep me and your mother updated on it as well and Kuon," he said with a relieved smile, "Thank you for telling me."

He heard his son take a quick breath in before there was silence and finally he heard his son's voice, "You're welcome."

 **End Chapter Four**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you reviewers of Chapter Three**

A Musing Brunette, Crazy4Animation, Erza, insidebeast, Kris, MWEH, Paulagato, Someone2303, Undertheskys,


	25. P3 - Chapter 5 - Damages

**AN:** Hope that you enjoy this chapter 😊

 **Chapter Five - Damages**

Kuon woke up early the next morning and snuck out of his bedroom with his shoulder hurting still. He had to try to summon up all of his acting skills now because he didn't want for anyone to see him break. He definitely didn't want his father to know about all of this. If his dad knew there was no telling what he would do but Kuon was even more worried about that being the final straw.

However, what he hadn't told anyone was that he had been looking at Kyoko's artwork before going to bed. Kyoko had been finishing with painting something and she was talking about these ball joint figures that she had seen and how it would be fun to use them but then she had to hang the picture up. Boss had asked to see her and so she had gone and he had packed up her items and tried to hang up her picture using a little step stool.

That's when the accident had happened and he really didn't want Kyoko to know about it so hopefully he could go in and fix everything up.

Fortunately, he had been able to save her precious artwork.

As he took a step into the room, Kuon's eyes caught on to the shelf that had crashed down the previous day and had hit him in the back. He put his hand on the wood and sighed trying to figure out how to get it adjusted back onto the wall. Kyoko had been displaying a lot of clay figures that she had made and painted on this shelf and thankfully he had been able to save those.

He had been able to save the things on the shelf but it was still on the ground and just seeing it made his back hurt.

Kuon paused and looked up at the wall. Maybe he could get it back on without anyone else's help. Kyoko always did her best to help him when he needed it, he needed to do something for her and especially if he could keep her treasured items safe then he would want to do it. Remembering the way his father had always taught him to lift heavy objects, he crouched down and tried to get hold of the shelf.

His hands shook as he tried to lift it and he felt himself pull his neck a little. Maybe if he just found some way of getting it up, a support system or something. It was just like when he went camping with his dad, you had to be resourceful and trust in your skill to survive. You had to observe the area and take note of anything that you could…

"What are you doing, Kuon?" Kyoko asked with a yawn as she stood behind him and Kuon turned quickly.

"Hi…Good morning," he told her as Kyoko looked at him confused and then stared down at the shelf. Tears came to her eyes but she sighed and looked around.

"Where did the animals fall?" she asked as Kuon smiled.

"Oh, those, I managed to save them," he said as he picked up a crate that had all of her clay figures inside. He saw her smile glow on her face and she went over to inspect all of the fairytale animals that she had created. Kuon knew that taking that hit to his back was for the best by seeing her relief and happiness.

"You're my hero," Kyoko grinned before looking at the shelf and then back at the box, "They're all here," she said as she counted them before turning back to Kuon. "Thank you so much for saving them, you're their rescuer."

"It's all in the line of duty for a knight, right?" he asked and Kyoko giggled. She turned to him and threw her arms around him which caused Kuon to take a couple of steps back. He tried to support her weight but as she threw herself at him, he stumbled and found himself fall back and onto the ground where - he landed on a box. Usually this wouldn't be enough to hurt anyone but Kuon had to struggle hard to keep the pain off of his face.

"Sorry about that," Kyoko said as she stood up and offered her hand to him. Kuon forced himself to laugh but as he moved his arm to take her hand there was a very strange and painful pull. This was the side that had been slower to heal as well. "Kuon?" Kyoko asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"Uh, yeah, sorry," Kuon apologized as he felt the pain shooting up and down one side of his body. He had to withstand the pain and not let even a glimmer of it on his face. He stood up slowly, for a second he could only see black and cold and then he saw color again. "Can you…tell me about them?" he gestured to the animals as Kyoko gave him a curious look.

"Are you okay?" she asked before he nodded and she looked back at the box before telling him about her figures that she had made as well as the inspiration for them. Kuon nodded slowly before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be right back," he told her before she nodded and he left the room. Kyoko froze as she watched Kuon walk away with a limp and holding to his arm. She silently followed him and found for him to go into the bathroom nearby and throw up.

That was strange. Was it the paint fumes that was getting to him?

Should she tell her father about this?

…

…..

Kyoko came over to Kuon as he read one of the books that he had for the private study that his parents and Lory had set up for him. For some reason he was finding it harder to concentrate on the material in front of him. He kept looking at the science explanations and it was as if he felt sick. Reading made him feel sick.

He took a deep breath in before noticing Kyoko as she put a hand on his good arm.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked as she looked at him concerned and Kuon smiled and nodded. "You don't need to study every day, right?" she asked again and Kuon looked up at the ceiling. He didn't know what to tell her but somehow focusing on the books felt better than focusing on the external world. He hummed.

"It's interesting," he tried to smile though he felt nauseous. He saw Lory enter the room and put a finger to his lips and shook his head. Kyoko frowned before nodding and looked up at her father.

"Kuon was telling me about what he was learning about," Kyoko tried to cover for why she was there which only caused Kuon to put a bookmark in to save his place.

"How's your back doing?" Lory asked before hugging Kyoko and grinning to her. He really had made the right choice in adopting this little girl who hadn't had a real home or family before.

Kyoko's eyes widened, "How did you know about his back?"

"Oh, I told Boss about it," Kuon told her as he looked at Lory and saw Kyoko sigh in relief.

"I'm happy that you were able to tell father," Kyoko said before Lory frowned as he looked at Kuon wanting to study his expression and find out the extent of the injury.

"Well, I hope it healed from last night," he said and Kyoko tilted her head to the side confused about what he meant by that. Hadn't he just hit his back when she had jumped on him and tackled him onto the floor of her art room. Had he gone around just hurting his back numerous times. That wasn't good for anyone and especially someone who used to be quadriplegic.

"Yeah, that's what I was talking about," Kyoko nodded before she thought about how if nobody had caught them, the animals would have just been smashed and she would have been devastated but Kuon would be safe. Was he trying to protect her from getting hurt even if he actually did get hurt? That was both sweet and stupid at the same time.

"Well, it should be time for your call with your father soon," Lory said and Kuon picked up the book again.

"Can you tell him I'm focusing on my studies?" Kuon asked and Kyoko froze. She knew how much these phone calls meant to Kuon. She didn't understand why he would just suddenly skip one. Was he hurting so much that he had to lie to his father? She saw her own father's shock as he thought over the question.

"Well…I could tell him that but I'll have to go into the agency tonight and you know your father he'll -" Lory said awkwardly.

"He'll have to deal with being denied certain things one day," Kuon said harshly as he looked at the books and she didn't think she was imagining the tears in his eyes.

…..

…..

Kyoko had been hiding by the phone in her father's office for about twenty minutes whilst waiting for the call. She wanted to get to it before anyone else did because she felt that _she_ needed to talk to his dad. The fairy king as she had once pretended he was, had been blind to his son's pain in the past but that didn't change how much he loved him or how special that bond was. Kyoko loved her own father but he wasn't her biological father. When it came to biological links sometimes those could get pushed into the background and Kuon needed to be strong and admit his problems.

As the phone rang, she picked it up, "Hello, Takarada residence. Kyoko speaking."

She heard the soft laugh of the fairy king, "Good afternoon, Kyoko-chan. How are you doing today?" Kuu asked in Japanese and Kyoko smiled.

"I'm well. School's going well and I like the art projects that I've been doing but there are problems with Kuon," she said bluntly and heard a moment of silence on the other side.

"I see. Kyoko, if he's bullying you then there's only so much that I can do an-"

"Is that how you see Kuon, sir?" Kyoko asked as she looked down trying her hard to be brave. "Kuon's not a bully but he…he's so worried about disappointing you. He's so worried that one day you'll stop loving him and you won't want him as your son. I know it's not my place to say this so I'm sorry but please make him see that being quiet about pain isn't -" Kyoko froze and put a hand over her mouth.

"Kuon's in pain? Did he get hurt again? Kyoko, sweetie, can you tell me if he's -" Kuu said quickly whilst still being gentle in his tone.

"I shouldn't have said anything I just don't like seeing Kuon in pain. I'm sorry," she apologized with tears in her own eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Kyoko," Kuu said as he took steady breaths, "Can you tell me what happened?"

"We were…he fell down and then he started throwing up and he's been moving weirdly and I think he needs to go to the hospital but I can't do anything because I don't want him to hate me. I don't want him to stop being my friend but I want him to get better," Kyoko said as she started to cry.

"Kyoko…" Kuu said with a worried voice, "Thank you for telling me this. Is there a chance that I could speak to your father?"

"No," Kyoko whispered, "Please don't. I just want him to be okay. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry," she apologized before putting down the phone without saying a goodbye. She brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them and started crying.

She just wanted what was best for her friend.

 **End of Chapter Five**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you reviewers of Chapter Four**

A Musing Brunette, brennakai, Erza, Kris, ktoll9, misherukuro, paulagato, Someone2303, Twilightserius, Undertheskys,


	26. P3 - Chapter 6 - Parental Influence

**AN:** I really hope that you enjoy this chapter 😊 I'm hoping to not make Kuon so annoying but show a change in characterization. I'm sorry if he's an annoying brat to you.

 **Chapter Six – Parental Influence**

Lory sighed as he poured himself a drink. He knew it was late in the evening but two years ago he wouldn't have thought that he'd be in this situation. He had always thought that when Kouki grew up that would be the end of his role of a father in the sense of needing to be there for your child. As much as he adored Kyoko and as much as he cared for Kuon, he hadn't thought that this would be his life in later adulthood.

There were so many things to consider and he felt as if his mind had shifted between them too much. He was trying to be the president of an agency which involved far more paperwork than he liked. Everything that happened to the top performers in the agency was reported to him and that felt like even more children that he was responsible for. Even his actors in their twenties needed guidance.

Then there were the secrets. He knew that because of the amount of time that Kuu and Julie had dedicated to their work, Kuon was always keeping things from them. It wasn't a malicious thing and it really was because he valued them and their work as much as they valued their careers but a child should never be responsible of taking care of a parent. As much as the eleven year old protested his childhood status, he was a child.

Kuon's secrecy might also be affecting Kyoko and he didn't want that. After knowing about the way she had been treated by her mother when she had been growing up, he didn't want to see that repeat. It was important that she spoke her mind and allowed other people to help her even if that seemed impossible for Kuon.

He sighed and leaned back, he was really having difficulty with all of this.

He heard his phone ring and sighed as he reached out to take it. The role of an agency president was never done.

…..

…..

Shuuhei Hozu had never been someone who Lory Takarada found it easy to argue with. Despite his loving and optimistic attitude, he had always been stubborn in his opinions and actions. He had the work ethic of a true Japanese man but there was also that aloofness that he had from his Americanized upbringing. He was somewhat of a nightmare sometimes because of his stubbornness and inability to listen and Kuu Hizuri was, in many ways, even worse.

That was why Lory had expected that Kuu would be jumping onto a plane if he knew the attitude that Kuon had. He was somewhat irritating and especially with the way he wouldn't take in the Japanese customs. If he wasn't going to be open and honest about what was going on then Lory had no chance of teaching him how to work in the world as a person.

Kuon had to acknowledge the accident that had happened in Kyoto. It had to be respected that he wasn't going to let the injury affect him in how he looked at the future and what possibilities he had for carving his own life but he had to at least consider the fact that it would take a longer time to heal.

Lory heard a knock on the door of his office and looked over to it. He nodded to his assistant and sighed as he saw Kuu enter the room. "I hope you were able to schedule the time off without much conflict," he said as he turned back to his old friend. "Listen, about Kuon."

"Thank you," Kuu said with a grateful smile. "I know that Kuon has a lot going on and I'm sure that sending him over here has had some negatives despite a want for him to heal so I'm really very thankful to you, Boss." Kuu looked up and took some deep breaths, "If I had been able to see the warning signs then I wonder if I would have been able to sort it out at home."

"So those classes that you're taking are doing you some good?" Lory asked. "I can't understand children. I realize now that there were a lot of things that Kouki was going through that I didn't realize. I respect you learning about the problems preteens and teenagers have. I respect you both as a man and as a father, I hope you know that."

Kuu sighed as he looked up and then closed his eyes, "It's relieving to know that someone feels that way. I think that I'm doing well with learning these things but Kuon is a tricky one to understand. I think that he has given himself some unreasonable standards to try to match."

"You mean the fact that he's trying to be like you despite your childish adulthood," Lory teased him as Kuu laughed and shook his head.

"I believe that my maturity is at least on level with yours, Boss," he said with a smile as he turned to his friend. "Do you think that sending Kuon here has done him any good?"

Lory leaned forward, "I'd like to say yes but nobody truly knows. I think that he's only been here for a short time but he's getting more confidence in himself and he's able to think more clearly. Hollywood is a hard community for someone to grow up in and even more if they have two successful parents. However, as mature as you think that Kuon is, he has a lot of problems. He ignores his youth and I don't know how to fix that. Nobody can force him into a state of childhood dependency."

"We've always tried to make Kuon someone who is self-reliant and -"

"Do you know that they say most psychopaths are both self-reliant and perfectionists and I'm not saying that Kuon is going to become one of those people but they…either they shoot themselves or they shoot somebody else. You should be careful when it comes to him. He's a good kid but good kids are often the ones who can be most easily pushed over the edge," Lory said and Kuu nodded weakly.

The actor lifted his head and sighed as he felt a gloom around himself. "Did you ever get a good look at his injury?" he asked and Lory shook his head. "Then I'll see if I can see how bad it is when I see him today. Julie and I used to think that we were the parents of the year but thinking that was a mistake. We're both trying our best to try to become better parents to him, to understand him."

"Kuu," Lory chuckled, "No good parent would think that they didn't have anything else to learn about parenting. At least you and Julie are trying now. I think you should have tried before when the accident happened, but you can't go back and change time no matter how much you would like to."

Kuu looked down before nodding. "I can still try though. I haven't lost contact with Kuon yet and I want to try. So, when do you think that I should see him tonight? Would going over to your place be the best option?"

"You should go now, I'll call ahead and tell them to expect you," Lory told his old friend and Kuu sighed.

Maybe the best thing to do would be to sit down with Kuon and really listen to him. He just hoped that his son wasn't too upset that he had taken some time off of work to spend some father-son time with him. In this world the acting roles came and went and your reputation might fall without you doing anything but no matter your social class or your prestige, you should always make time for your family.

…..

…..

Kuon was sitting and doing the independent study homework for the school his father had taken care of setting up for him. It seemed easier than he would have thought it would be which made him question just how beneficial it was to his educational improvement. As he was sitting in the library, he heard a maid come up to him.

"Master Hizuri," she said with a bow, "You have a visitor."

Kuon looked at her curiously before nodding and followed her into the entrance hall where he saw his father standing there. Kuon paled as he looked at his dad and then looked away. He didn't know what he had said or done that had made it so that Kuu was here. Kuu had taken time away from his work to do that and he was using one of his rare personal days for him when he hadn't even asked him to.

"Hey," Kuu said as he looked at his son, "I hope it was okay that I came."

Kuon nodded weakly. He tried hard to keep the smile that came from the happiness of seeing his father from his face. He didn't understand what he was doing there. He moved awkwardly before looking his father in the eyes, "Why did you come? Why are you here?"

"I'm here because I heard that my son needed me," Kuu said and Kuon looked at him confused.

"Did Boss –" he said but Kuu cut him off.

"It doesn't matter who told me, right? What matters is that hopefully I can be someone who you can trust with your problems and your worries. Hopefully I can be one of the only two things I care about being right now, your dad."

Kuon looked at him warily before sighing and walked forwards to hug his father. Kuu pulled his son close to him and then got down to his level to pull him into his arms. "Dad, I'm sorry that you came here. I'm sorry you -"

"I'm the one who should be apologizing," Kuu said as he smiled in relief at how he could hold his son and realized how much he missed him. He ruffled Kuon's hair a little and grinned as his son smiled at him. "I'm only here for a few days but you're welcome to come home again with me if you want."

"Did Boss ask you to take me home?" Kuon asked and Kuu shook his head.

"As much as Boss doesn't like you concealing secrets, it's a part of you and he's just trying his best to give you a new start in life. Please don't feel as if we're trying to cast you out or get rid of you. We're only people Kuon and we can be stupid and self-involved but we care about you. I love you so much," Kuu told him and Kuon took a step back. "What is it?"

"Did Kyoko tell you that she was worried about me?" Kuon asked and he figured it out in his father's eyes that that was exactly what had happened. He sighed and shook his head but Kuu reached out for him.

"If Kyoko really didn't care about you or your friendship then she wouldn't have bothered telling me. I'm asking you not to get angry at her for telling me what was happening. I would have preferred to have heard it from you but if someone gets involved just to help you then you should take their help unless it really seems the worst option for you. You are so important to her," Kuu said. He didn't want his presence here to create a divide between them. Their friendship was important to both of them and he just needed Kuon to be honest with his emotions.

"I know, she's important to me too," he told Kuu before he looked down. "I just hope that this trip will be worth it to you."

"Hey," Kuu grinned, "I've seen my son and I've held him in my arms. Doing those things makes any action that led to it worth my time."

 **End of Chapter Six**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to reviewers of Chapter Five**

Brennakai, Kris, paedirt, paulagato, Someone2303, Undertheskys


	27. P3 - Chapter 7 - Living in the Moment

**AN:** This is about a hundred words shorter than goal but I hope that you enjoy it. I decided to take this in a different direction right now but I have things planned for all stages so you'll have to wait and see what happens next 😉

 **Chapter Seven – Living in the Moment**

Kuu had taken Kuon somewhere that he used to go when he was tired of the celebrity status. It was just outside of the Tokyo area in a little forgotten park. Tourists didn't really know of the area because apart from a couple of factories there were no major landmarks. Japanese workers were much too busy during the day to go sit on a hilltop and there were places with much more scenery for nature lovers.

The main appeal of this hill was that nobody really knew about it.

Kuu wrapped his arms around his son as sat next to him and overlooked the rivers and factories. "You know, humanity is really stupid sometimes," he said and Kuon looked at him with a questioning gaze in his eyes. "You feel as if you're making it through the day and then something happens and it just reminds you that we're not all here to laugh and enjoy ourselves. There's wars, there's disease, and there's heartbreak."

"Dad, this isn't about -" Kuon tried to protest but it was as if Kuu wasn't hearing him.

"Still, people sing about life and their accomplishments. People settle down with loving families and they work to get things done for their families. Kids have friends at school and somehow, the world seems a little bit brighter because of it," he said as he looked at the world around them.

Kuon bowed his head, "If you think that I'm ungrateful then that's not what I'm saying," he attempted to argue with his father. "I just…"

"Do you think that those men in that factory ever planned to work there?" Kuu asked as Kuon blinked.

"Isn't Japanese society like that?" he asked and Kuu sighed as he looked up at the sky and took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

"No, I mean, there may be some people working in that factory because they are related to somebody who does work there. There are people who are working there out of loyalty to somebody else who got them that job when they were down on their luck. There are people there who actually enjoy a factory setting or at least they feel that the factory is producing things that benefit others," Kuu tried to explain and Kuon rolled his eyes.

"I bet some of those people hate their job," he said and Kuu sighed.

"I think so too. There are always going to be people who dislike what they are doing even if they don't show it on the outside. If one of those workers went around complaining to their superiors about not liking their job and they didn't save their face then they would find that the problem would solve itself with their being fired. However, that worker wouldn't say that he disliked his job, he'd find the positives about it."

"Sure, Dad," Kuon sighed, "Doing a job that you hate, what positives are there to that?"

"Well," Kuu said as he watched his kid. He didn't know how Kuon's feelings of insecurity had turned to a pessimistic attitude about the world around them. It definitely wasn't healthy. "I'm sure that there is some man working in there that has a wife and a baby. I'm sure that if he doesn't like his job, he likes the money that the hard work gives him. He likes knowing how much time and effort he is putting in and the fact that he can make his wife happy and keep his child warm and fed with plenty of toys and hope for the best education possible."

"And if that kid doesn't get that education?" Kuon asked and Kuu continued to smile.

"I'm sure that even if the kid isn't that smart or if their at a disadvantage, as long as they are happy and working their hardest then the family doesn't think any less of them. You're right, it is different in America. There are certainly those families where grades matter and the child has a lot of discipline, but there are also families who encourage passion of activities and allow dreams that some people here would call frivolous," Kuu said before looking at Kuon. "What are your dreams?"

"Dad, you don't need to ask me that," Kuon said as he moved uncomfortably. He wasn't sure if his father would like the answer to that question.

"Are you one of those people who wants a wife and kids and a dog with a white picket fence?" he asked and Kuon looked down with a weak smile.

"Maybe I'd like a family but I'm scared that I'm not going to get it. I want to be an actor. I want to be told that I did a great job. I want to stand on a stage and make a speech about how well I did and -"

Kuon looked at his father as he saw him smile sadly and the eleven-year-old paused, "Dad, what is it?"

"Is that what acting is to you?" he asked and Kuon froze, "Is acting just doing it to get famous and to win awards to you?"

"No, it's…" Kuon said as Kuu looked at him.

"Kuon, what is your favorite thing about acting? What is the one thing that excites you about it more than anything else?" Kuu looked at his son with such intensity that it made Kuon flinch a little bit.

"Living inside the character. I like taking hold of the character and trying to figure out their motivations, their backstory. I like being able to live a life that is different than mine because you get to understand things that are better that way and I like doing my best in different roles," he admitted and Kuu tilted his head to the side.

"I have an idea for you. Acting in front of a camera takes a lot of hard work and perfection. You have to be disciplined with yourself and go over scenes over and over again. One time I had to do a scene seven times in less than an hour because the director wasn't getting what he felt was right. Acting in a film or drama is going over the same words in the way that the director wants you to. Honestly, sometimes I don't really know my character because the director has a vision for them which is different than my own," Kuu said as he thought about when he had been starting out as an actor. He had felt that in the beginning, Kuon had wanted to follow in his footsteps and Kuu worked on the big and small screens but that was where the directors and producers all knew him. That's where they thought that the name Hizuri mattered. It didn't have to be that way.

"So, what's your thought?" Kuon asked as he looked at his father with so much trust and admiration.

"Take the acting classes at LME, unless you would like to come home which is always an option, and try to think of the difference between doing TV and film work and how it compares to standing on the middle of a stage and having to trust in yourself. I'm not saying you wouldn't be amazing in TV or movies, but I want you to think about being on a stage and improve. It's something that I've never been brave enough to consider."

Kuon looked down as he stared at his shoes. That wasn't what his father did and it wasn't what made people the most popular. He didn't know how he could live up to his father's name if he didn't appear on camera or maybe that was the point. Was his dad just trying to give him a scenario in which he would succeed?

"Would you be proud of me if I was a stage actor instead?" Kuon asked as he looked at his dad worried.

"I am proud of you no matter what, but you have to change your attitude when it comes to Boss and especially to Kyoko. No more secrets from them, okay? If I hear you make Kyoko cry again then I will make you board the next flight for America and no, I'm not kidding you," Kuu said. Although he was serious, he was smiling through it.

Being in nature with Kuon was really giving him the opportunity to think clearly about his son's future.

"Can we go home in a little bit? I really want to apologize to her," he said and Kuu ruffled his son's hair and kissed him on the top of the head.

"Yes, but I want to enjoy this view with you a little bit longer," he said before pulling Kuon closer to him and enjoying the time with his son. Hopefully this conversation had made his world carry at least a little more light.

…

…

Kyoko raised her head as she heard a knock on her bedroom door and she opened it. She couldn't help but to throw her arms around Kuon in a hug as she saw him standing there.

"Hey," Kuon said as he hugged her and made sure to hold her close to him. "You seem quite lively today."

"You saw your dad and you're smiling," Kyoko grinned before she looked back at her sketchpad that she was working on. She looked down and tried to cover it up. She hadn't wanted him to see that she was using him as her inspiration for male fairy clothes. Fortunately, he hadn't seen it.

"He gave me a lot to think about," Kuon said before bowing to her, "I'm really sorry that I haven't been treating you with all the respect you deserve," he said to her and Kyoko blushed. She put a hand on Kuon's chest and pushed him back so that he could stand up.

"You shouldn't bow," she said concerned, "You might pull a muscle."

"Kyoko, I am really sorry that I made you sad," he told her as he watched her move across the room. "I'm really sorry that I put you in that situation. I hope that you can forgive me and that our friendship hasn't suffered because of it."

Kyoko blushed again before shaking her head quickly, "No, no, that's really okay. I'm glad that your dad came, you seem happier now and that's really really good," she said before she looked down. "Do you still want to see the play with me?"

"I'd love to," he said before looking at her and then turned away, "Kyoko, do you think that stage actors are less influential than screen actors?" he asked her and Kyoko shook her head.

"No because different people see them, everyone's work is valuable as long as you put your heart into it. I think that if you act and you are living in the moment, you can make beautiful work," Kyoko said as she looked at him wondering if Kuon was thinking about going onto the stage instead of doing the movies he had once said he dreamed about doing.

"As beautiful as your artwork?" he asked before daring himself to take a step forward and kiss her on the top of her head. "Sorry," he apologized and Kyoko turned a deep red.

"Thank you," she said before smiling. "Thank you for making me feel beautiful."

 **End of Chapter Seven**

 **Thank You For Reading**

 **Thank you, reviewers of Chapter Six**

Brennakai, Kris, paulagato, Undertheskys, Yujiro101


	28. P3 - Chapter 8 - Kanae Kotonami

**AN:** Wow, it has been such a scarily long time since I wrote a chapter of this. I have to tell you though that I am glad, and also apologetic, that I did because it gave me a chance to reflect. When I was writing this before I cared a lot about the reviews (I still love them) but the most important person I write for wasn't enjoying this fic very much, let's hope that she starts to enjoy it again 😊

 **Chapter Eight – Kanae Kotonami**

Kyoko smiled as she wrapped her arms around Kuon's arm excitedly as they went to see the play that had been advertised. There were multiple showings but Kuon had got them tickets for one of the later days. Kyoko was excited and she also hoped that this would motivate her friend. Corn had told her that he wanted to be a stage actor and if he got a chance to do that then she wanted him to experience all the joys that were around it.

"Do you think I'd make a good actress?" Kyoko asked him as Kuon laughed and stopped, Kyoko stopped holding onto him so closely but Kuon still kept hold of her hand.

"If you want to be an actress then I think you could do it," he nodded and Kyoko smiled again. "You're really creative," he told her before sighing and looking up at the sky. "I mean, you see things that nobody else does, you have a real sense about the world."

Kyoko smiled softly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Kuon, you're the creative one," she took a deep breath in, "I really hope that there are good things for both of us in the future. I think that's what your dad wants too," she said before hearing a girl sobbing softly to herself. Kyoko nervously fidgeted before walking off to see where the noise was coming from.

"Kyoko, maybe she just wants to be left alone," Kuon said as he attempted to stop her and Kyoko turned to him.

"If she wants to be left alone, she can just tell us," she said with a determined grin that made anyone under ten look absolutely adorable. Kuon reluctantly followed her. He knew that when he felt as if his own world was crumbling he tried to lock it up inside and bury it so deep down within him that he wouldn't have to deal with it.

"Kyoko -" he said as the little girl ran over to another girl of the same age. This girl looked a little less elegant than Kyoko, her clothes weren't the best and she didn't have a lot of accessories, she still did look pretty though, she just didn't look as beautiful as Kyoko did.

"Hi," Kyoko smiled as she stood in front of the girl, "Are you okay? What's your name? My name's Takarada Kyoko," she said as she tilted her head to the side.

"You shouldn't be back here," the other girl said as she stood up and all of a sudden there was absolutely no sadness that could be seen on her face. Kuon knew all about _those_ walls.

"Oh, well it's okay for just a little bit, right?" Kyoko said, "Did you get hurt?" she asked and Kuon tried to walk over to her and make the suggestion that they should leave this girl to figure things out for herself.

"I didn't get hurt, what are you talking about?" the girl asked before looking at them. "You two obviously don't go here," she said as Kuon smiled weakly about that. He knew what she was referring to and he knew that it was something that bothered his father. Whereas his mother had been okay with class divisions, his father wasn't and he had always said that you had to base on other factors and he wished that he could be seen as an ordinary man.

When you had access to whatever clothes and food and anything else that you liked, life didn't seem quite as much work as for those who couldn't afford these things.

"We wanted to see the play," Kyoko said, "Are you in it?"

"A minor role although I do think that I have more talent than the main girl who is starring in it," she said with a calm face but there was a fire in her eyes. She looked at Kyoko as she studied her, "Did you say Takarada as in Lory Takarada?"

Kyoko nodded, "He's my father, well he adopted me but I still consider him my dad. He's a little out there sometimes but he's fun and he cares so much."

"And then who are you?" Kanae pointed to Kuon who looked at her, he looked quickly to the side.

"I'm…" he took a deep breath in, hopefully she wouldn't recognize the name, "I'm Hizuri Kuon."

The girl stared at them and it looked as if she recognized both of the last names. She looked away from them and turned to the mirror. "So you're both the children of big names in the acting world, guess that means that you're just like her, that you don't even have to try."

"Trust me," Kuon smiled weakly, "We do _have_ to try," he said as Kyoko's face lit up and her smile grew.

"That's so impressive that you know so much about acting," she smiled, "Do you want to be an actress? Kuon is thinking about trying to do some stage acting and I think that he's going to be really good at it. I think that there are so many things that you can do in acting and, and –"

The girl raised an eyebrow, "Let me guess, you want to be an actress."

Kyoko paused before shaking her head, "I want to be an artist and fashion and accessory designer."

The girl smiled at her before looking away, "Not that you care, but I'm Kotonami Kanae and I have the acting ability to deliver any line better than the girl who is actually starring in this production," she said and Kyoko sat down before Kuon could make a suggestion that they leave her to get ready for the show. Reluctantly, Kuon went down and sat next to Kyoko.

"Why don't you show us what you can do?" Kyoko asked eagerly, "If you're a good actress then you should prove it, you should go out and act in front of as many people as you can."

Kanae shifted awkwardly before looking at them. "You better not tell the other performers about me doing this and I'm only doing it because you challenged my love for acting and my ability as an actress. If this got around then you don't want to he-"

"We won't tell anybody," Kuon said as Kyoko smiled.

"Alright," Kanae sighed before doing the scene of the main character for them. She looked at the two of them and saw tears in Kyoko's eyes from how moving her performance was. "That was amazing!" Kyoko said as she stood up and clapped her hands to give a standing ovation. Kuon politely clapped despite noticing the smile and blush on Kanae's face as she finally saw somebody affected by her acting to this degree.

"That was really good," Kuon said and Kyoko looked back at him.

"It was phenomenal," Kyoko giggled as she clapped harder and saw Kanae's face light up as someone appreciated her art and her skill. "If they didn't cast you as the main role, all of the other parts must be really good. You're amazing."

Kuon saw anger flash in Kanae's eyes.

"Wait until you see the play then," she said as Kyoko looked back at Kuon who shrugged not sure what that meant.

…..

…..

As the play ended, Kuon and Kyoko looked at one another in shock. Despite having seen such a great performance from Kanae just before the performance, she was in the background with only two lines whilst a blond diva seemed to take over the show. Kyoko looked at Kuon who was staring at the girl, Erika, who had seemed to rule over everyone else.

"Why was that cast like that?" Kyoko asked as she looked devastated. It had seemed that Kanae's performance had given her such a high opinion that just seeing that everyone else couldn't act in the same way had let her down. Kanae should have been the star because she had the most talent.

"I didn't know Japan could get as bad as America," Kuon sighed as he saw Kanae trying to clean up the stage a little.

"What do you mean?" Kyoko asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"Well, sometimes in America the roles for a show aren't given to people based on talent but on some other skill. That's why I failed a lot. People didn't pick me based on my own abilities, they wanted to show the son of Kuu Hizuri so I messed up because I can't compete with my dad and that's why I got so depressed. However, sometimes just by being the child of someone famous, you can use that to your advantage. I just got it backwards," Kuon tried to explain to her as Kyoko saw the pain in his eyes.

She went over to Kanae as Kuon followed her again. "I think they were wrong," Kyoko said and Kuon put a hand on her shoulder. He didn't want her to get affected by this and be targeted by anybody. The Takarada name offered her a lot of protection though.

"Huh?" Kanae asked as she stared at the girl opposite her, "You think that -"

"They are wrong, yes," Kyoko said as she smiled proudly, "I don't like to say my opinion too loudly but they are wrong. You are an amazing actress and it's so sad that they aren't giving you a chance." She took a deep breath in before looking to Kuon and then back to Kanae, "Do you like stage acting?" she asked and Kanae nodded.

"A-any type of acting," Kanae said and Kyoko smiled.

"Then we should show your talents to our fathers, I'm sure that we can help you if there's fees involved. I know that both my dad and Hizuri-san care a lot about young actors and they might be able to sponsor you," Kyoko said and Kuon nodded.

"I don't want to speak too much on them but my dad loves seeing unrecognized talent and if you want to take a class in acting then we could help with that," Kuon offered as Kanae looked between the two of them.

"Why would either of you want to help somebody that you just met that day? Why would either of you try to offer charity to –" Kanae said but Kuon cut her off.

"Then prove to them that you deserve it, show them your skills and earn it from them. I'm sure that Boss, Takarada-san, if he saw how much talent you have at your age then he would want to secure you as an LME actor in the future. Well, you might have to give your blood to LME but it's a cool agency and my dad worked there for a while," Kuon shrugged and Kyoko smiled at her.

"And then we get to be friends," Kyoko smiled happily and Kuon saw her go over and hug Kanae who welcomed the hug.

"Why would you want to be friends with someone like me?" she asked and Kyoko smiled in a way that always made Kuon's heart melt.

"Because you showed how beautiful you are through your acting, please say we can be friends," Kyoko said with a weak smile and Kanae nodded.

"I'd like that, my first friend," she said as Kyoko hugged her closer.

 **End of Chapter Eight**

 **Thank you for reading and thanks for your patience for this chapter.**

 **Thank you, reviewers of Chapter Seven**

Artistofthemind, Brennakai, KrisXD, MWEH, noeliaf87, paulagato, RichkeyZero, Someone2303, The Real Jackie-O, Undertheskys, Yujiro101

 **Well the most important person I write for, myself, enjoyed writing that chapter so I hope you liked it too.**


	29. P3 - Chapter 9 - Young and Talented

**AN:** I really hope you enjoy this chapter

 **Chapter Nine – Young and Talented**

"Are you serious?" Kanae asked as she raised an eyebrow and looked at the man in front of her who looked less like the president of an entertainment agency and more like a cowboy from an old Western film complete with neckerchief. Kanae was almost convinced that she had seen somebody taking a horse out of the building.

"I don't kid about great acting skills," Lory said as he aimed his fingers like a gun at her before pretending to fire at the wall, "And I feel right on the money about you. Now, there's no audition needed but you do need your parents permission. Let's just say that we'll allow the tuition cost to reflect what your parents are able to pay."

Kanae put her hands up, "that's really not a lot that my parents are able to pay," she flicked her hair behind her, "I might as well leave now if you're not -"

"Well, if they can't afford it then I'll take it out of your salary once you get famous," he winked, "and I'll add onto the contract that I make with them that you are to be an exclusive LME actress until the money gets paid back or you tire of acting."

Kanae grinned back with a smile, "That might take years, are you sure that you're okay not getting your money back for that long Takarada-sama?" she asked and Kyoko smiled at her. Kyoko could tell that her new friend was nervous about being taken to their impressive house and being asked to act on cue but she had been able to do so.

Kyoko felt great about this. Although Kuon and Kanae were different ages and wanted to go in different directions in terms of where their acting took them, they were going to be going to the school together. A part of her wanted to join them but she wasn't that interested in actually acting for herself, she already felt a little bit overlooked and to force herself into the center didn't seem like a fun alternative. No, she'd have fun watching her friends act and perform.

"Here's my card for your parents," Lory told her, "Kyoko, what did you think?" he winked at her and Kyoko looked across at Kuon who had recorded the whole thing on his digital camera.

"I think it was amazing," she said as she clapped energetically, "You're amazing! That was unbelievably super cool amazing wonderful! You're amazing!" she said again and Kanae blushed.

"Well, yes, of course I am," she said with a smile as Lory laughed and stood up.

"Now I think I have some work calls to make," Lory said before hugging Kyoko again, "Thank you for rustling up some talent my adorable little cowgirl," he winked again and Kyoko smiled before seeing him go back to his office.

"Your dad is….really weird," Kanae said in a whisper so that she wouldn't be heard.

"I love that about him," Kyoko nodded. She turned to Kuon, "I never would have met him if it wasn't for Corn. He adopted me from when I used to live in Kyoto and my…" Kyoko shivered as she thought about how her mother had just abandoned her freely as if that was an okay thing for a parent to do. Kuon had noticed this and was hugging her.

"It's okay, yeah, boss adopted Kyoko due to complications with her own family. I had some trouble with my own parents so I came here for a little bit to heal," he said as he helped Kyoko by wiping away some of her tears. "I'm only here for a few more months but my parents, especially my dad, though that it would be good for me."

"I…I don't have any problems with my family but my parents are kind of poor and then they go on these trips and my siblings kind of…." Kanae said as she looked around. How was it that she had such a low economic background compared to the two of them and yet she felt happier and more fulfilled with her biological family. Was it really true that rich people could afford to have more problems, it seemed so?

"Do you want to get some ice cream?" Kyoko asked as she pulled on Kanae's hand.

Kanae stared at her, what kind of ice cream did she have here? Was this where she could try the gold ice cream? Was that such a thing that rich people ate. "S-sure," Kanae nodded, "I love ice cream. Thank you."

Kuon looked at them before calling out to them, "Kyoko, I'm going to go and wait for my dad's call," he said. This was the second time they had met with Kanae and whereas Kuon was interested in how this girl and Kyoko were getting along, he wanted to show the video to his father and see what his response was. He hoped that he wasn't causing his dad too many additional problems.

As he got to his room, Kuon connected the camera to his computer to upload the file and then sent it in an email attachment to his father. He wanted to see his dad and hear what he had to say about this girl. Kuon waited for about twenty minutes before hearing the phone ring and picked it up.

"Hi, Dad, how are you?" he asked and Kuu laughed.

"Somebody sounds happier, I take it that you've decided to live in the moment, smart decision," Kuu said as Kuon could tell he was smiling on the other end of the line.

"There's been some good things happening for Kyoko and I'm excited to train as a stage actor," Kuon said truthfully. He waited a moment before asking, "Dad, did you see the video file I just sent you?"

"I did and Kuon, that girl is extraordinarily talented. I'm really glad that you showed me that, are you becoming a talent scout?" he tried to joke and Kuon laughed.

"No, it was more that Kyoko wanted to see a stage play and especially when I told her about how I wanted to study stage acting and then we saw her act and I think she's one of the best child actors I know well, better than -"

"I still think the best actor is an eleven-year-old boy who sometimes thinks too far ahead but is still the best son a father could ask for," Kuu replied and Kuon looked down with a soft smile.

"Thanks Dad, but this girl, she doesn't come from a rich environment and it's just a shame that -" Kuon said before Kuu cut him off.

"If boss isn't going to sponsor her than I am," Kuu laughed, "You know that's one of my joys in life. Finding and nurturing young stars who might have difficulties because of their social, racial, or ethnic classes.

"I know, thank you," Kuon smiled as he started to realize that he and his dad were talking to each other without a feeling of their being something between them that they had to cross through. It was just their father-son bond again. "Dad, I'm excited to learn about stage acting, I'm not sure if I'd want to do it forever but -"

"You know, if you do become a Broadway actor which I have no doubt you could do, I don't think I'd ever get your mother to leave New York," Kuu joked. "Anything else you want to talk about?" he asked and Kuon nodded before entering a conversation with his father.

…..

…..

Kanae looked over at Kyoko as they got the ice cream. She rubbed her arm a little as she hated to be nervous and have that anxiety show on her face. "Kyoko-chan, about what everybody here is trying to help me with, about all the kindness that you've all given me, I -" she dropped down into a bow, "thank you so much for everything. I'm truly grateful."

Kyoko wrapped her arms around her in a hug, "It's good to recognize talents in other people. That's what Kuon did for me," she smiled happily and Kanae looked at her.

"Is he related to you?" she asked and Kyoko hummed.

"Not yet," she said before her eyes widened and she went to grab the sprinkles for their ice creams. She tried to ignore the fact that she had just said that. She knew that Kuon didn't have any dreams of marrying her and she should give up on this fairytale desires of hers but she did want to think that there was some possibility of becoming his bride.

"Not yet?" Kanae asked before smiling, "You like him," she stated and Kyoko blushed.

"Yes. Yes, I do. I think he's my best friend," she said before looking down at her ice cream, "or at least my most important friend. We've known each other for a long time ever since he got his injury and couldn't move his arms or legs."

"He…got hurt that badly?" Kanae asked and Kyoko nodded.

"It was a while ago but I don't think he's fully recovered. I think I'd always like to stay close to him. His parents took care of him when he was hurt like that but they both work and are very busy," she tried to explain. She thought about all the times that she had been through with Kuon and all the pain that she had had as well. It was all worth it though when it got to the good times that the two of them shared together.

"He doesn't show it, he seems to move around a lot, is that why he came here?" Kanae asked and Kyoko looked down.

"I don't want to say any more. I'm sorry, that's Kuon's story to share. I don't want to betray his trust. If you had a stor-"

"I understand," Kanae smiled as she looked over at Kyoko. She didn't want to make the young girl feel hurt about what was going on and she didn't want to hurt their newly blossoming friendship. She could see already the love that Kyoko had for this older boy and their friendship was already special. Kyoko's family was doing so much for her.

Kyoko looked at the food thoughtfully before her eyes brightened as Kuon came into the room, "How did the phone call go?" she asked and Kuon gave her a thumbs up. "Did you tell your parents that I said hi to them?"

"I told them how excited you were to see my Dad and how you said hi to them. Of course, I did. I also talked to them about Miss. Kotonami's audition and my dad thinks she's really talented." Kuon smiled as he looked at her, "I think my dad is a genius," he said and Kyoko laughed before flinging her arms around Kanae again.

"Did you hear that!? A genius said you're talented!" Kyoko told her and this time Kanae blushed a little.

"Kyoko-chan," Kanae said awkwardly, "Would you like to come and see my home?" she asked and Kyoko's excitement grew at that as she nodded eagerly, "Kuon can come as well."

"I think maybe just the two of you but thank you for the offer," Kuon tried to say respectfully whilst Kyoko was looking excited that her new friend liked her so much that she could come to her house.

 **End of Chapter Nine**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed Chapter Eight**

 **(my reviews have been really off lately and not appearing so sorry if I accidentally leave you off)**

Ayuni Yuukinojo, Brennakai, Emma, Erza, Guineapigs1, justsomebread, Kris XD, ktoll9, KuroiRyoko, Mainaru974, misherukuro, paulagato, The Real Jackie-O, Undertheskys, Yujiro101


	30. P3 - Chapter 10 - Independence

**AN:** I think that I'm going to have to just spend a day reading to get some ideas flowing because I just couldn't write this chapter, it was really hard for me to get it out and sometimes I get writers block feelings when I haven't read enough. I apologize for it being short and would really appreciate that not being commented on, it is hideously short.

 **Chapter Ten – Independence**

This was going to be an interesting day for Kuon.

His father had heard about a casting call for a stage play that was asking for someone of Kuon's age to play a role in an upcoming stage play. Despite Kuon being hesitant about applying to audition, he had pushed himself to do so. The role that he would be playing would be of a foreign student who got lost when coming to Tokyo who was helped by a young Japanese student.

Kuon was auditioning for the role of the foreigner because with his blond hair and green eyes he didn't think he'd be cast in the role of the Japanese natural. He was worried about the same thing happening in Japan as it had in America. He was scared he wouldn't be able to live up to his father's example, the guy was a legend here.

"Excuse me," one of the crew members said as he approached Kuon, "Some of the paperwork got left behind and I need to take down your name as you'll be going on next."

Kuon stiffened as he looked down and tried to close his eyes, he thought about birds whilst trying to keep calm and felt the thump of his heart as he remembered his dad talking about birds in relation to different parts of Japan, "Ren…" Kuon said slowly, "My name is Tsur-ru-Tsuruga Ren."

"Ren, okay," the crew member said in response before going on to talk to another person who was auditioning. Hopefully this wasn't a bad sign, paperwork didn't get lost as much as some people might think. Kuon didn't want this to become a situation that he wanted to hide from his father.

Soon it was time for Kuon to start performing and he walked onto the stage, dropping down into a formal bow as he stood in the center. He managed to calm his nerves before looking up at the people who were casting the parts, "My name is Tsuruga Ren, this is what I've prepared for you," he said as he started his audition.

…..

…..

Kyoko entered the Kotonami residence and looked around. It didn't seem like such a bad place, run down a little sure but not a very poor place. From the way that Kanae had been talking about it, she had made it sound like it was something out of a child's nightmare and that she was disgusted by this. Sure it wasn't a mansion but there were many things that made Kyoko feel it was a comforting home, one full of opportunity and love, one where you could return back to ride out the storm.

"Wow, Kanae" a woman smiled as she came over to them with a baby in her arms, "I haven't seen you for such a long time," she smiled and Kanae looked over to Kyoko.

"This is my older sister," Kanae gestured to her, "This is Kyoko, she's my friend. It's her father who is helping me with my acting classes."

"Oh wow," sister said as she rocked the baby in her arms, "Thank you so much for helping Kanae with that. I know that it's her dream to be an actress and coming from a background like this there are more than enough obstacles. Thank you so much for helping her with her dream."

Kyoko tensed as she heard that and nodded slowly, "That's okay," she said with a smile. "I support my friends dreams and obstacles are only things to make you stronger once you climb over them. I think that if you had life easy you might not be able to act properly."

Kanae nodded, "True, you have to imagine different situations to be a good actor and take what you can from your past."

"Exactly," Kyoko smiled before seeing a man enter the room.

"Darling, you might want to tell your parents to be careful," the man said as he came over to the sister and kissed her forehead whilst looking down at the baby. "Where are the other kids?" he asked and Kyoko looked around trying to see where they might be.

"They're safe and you really shouldn't listen to those news reports," the sister laughed as she patted her husband's shoulder. She turned to Kyoko and Kanae, "I'm sure that Kanae has told you that we have siblings of different ages," she said and the man leaned down to look at Kyoko and Kanae.

"What have you two heard about the princess keeper?" he asked and Kyoko shook her head though it did sound like some intriguing fairy tale thing that she'd have liked to hear more about. She looked at Kanae who was sighing as if she was exhausted by this story already.

"Yes, but that's only been happening to rich young girls in Tokyo who are walking by themselves," she said as Kyoko looked between them. Was she one of the people that this horror movie character had been looking for? Well, they wouldn't want anything to do with someone like her.

"Umm, that's okay, I'm more aware than you'd think," she said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you," she bowed respectfully and Kanae grabbed her arm, pulling her over to an unoccupied area of the small house.

"Sorry," Kanae apologized when it was just the two of them, she sat down on the floor and brought her knees up close to her chin. "It's hard to sidestep people in this house," she commented, "hard to avoid them but I really wanted to show you my house."

"It's amazing," Kyoko said with a smile and Kanae rolled her eyes, "No, it really is, it really feels like you come home and it's so warm and comforting. Sometimes my house still feels kind of massive but my dad takes really good care of me. I don't really see my brother too much but it sounds as if you have a lot of different family members."

"Too many," Kanae sighed and Kyoko shook her head.

"That's not a thing," she commented and Kanae looked at her hoping that they would be able to have some fun that afternoon.

…..

…..

After about two hours, Kanae's sister had gone to see the two of them and told them that dinner would be ready soon. Kyoko however didn't want to intrude and since she had wanted to hear about how the audition went and prepare some food with Kuon, she had asked to be excused. At this point she was just getting ready to leave when Kanae stopped her at the door.

"Hey, you want me to walk with you?" she asked and Kyoko quickly shook her head.

"No, I'll be fine. I told Kuon that I'd meet him back at the house but I'm really excited about how his audition went so I think that I'll go and surprise him but thank you so much for everything," she bowed again and Kanae frowned.

"Maybe my sister's husband can give you a ride there?" she asked and Kyoko looked at her in shock before shaking her head very quickly. She really didn't want to intrude especially since Kanae would be missing out on her own meal if she came and the same for her brother-in-law.

"I'll be okay," Kyoko grinned before throwing her arms around her friend, "but thank you so so much. I had such a good time today. Please call me so that we can spend some more time together but I'll see you after acting class in two days," she said as she held up her fingers and Kanae nodded.

"Thank you, Kyoko," she said before frowning as she hummed again, "Do you really think that you're going to be alright? Are you sure that I can't walk with you?" she asked and Kyoko shook her head.

"I'm good," she said before scampering off to get her shoes and coat on. In her bag she had her money, key, and phone plus some other things that little girls like to keep with them. Before Kanae could keep her in the house, Kyoko had dashed off and Kanae had lost track of her. Hopefully nothing bad would happen to her.

…

…

As Kyoko waited outside the building where the auditions were being held, she was approached by an older man who looked a little like somebody's young grandfather or older father. Kyoko was standing with her arms around her bag whilst just waiting with her back pressed against a wall. She hadn't put it together how unsafe it was for an eight year old to do that.

"Cute bag," the man said as he looked at her and Kyoko smiled politely before nodding.

"Thank you," she said as she let her hands press onto the hot pink butterfly that she had glued on, "I worked on it myself."

"I can see that," the man nodded, "It's beautiful and so much glitter," he said and Kyoko nodded politely. She looked down as she tried to avoid the way that this strange man was looking at her. After a moment the man spoke again, "Takarada," he pointed and he looked Kyoko over, "Wow, are you really Lory Takarada, one of the kings of the entertainment industry, are you really his daughter?" he asked and Kyoko nodded as she eyed the man suspiciously.

"Yes, I'm…" she said before the man leaned closer to her and Kyoko felt odd as she could feel his breath on her neck. She squirmed inside as he said very slowly,

"Take off your panties."

 **End of Chapter Ten**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you for reviewing Chapter Nine**

 **(I will put more of the Kotonami household in a future chapter, promise)**

Brennakai, kaiirine, KetriaTM, Kris XD, ktoll9, misherukuro, PaulaGaTo, Undertheskys, zeynel


	31. P3 - Chapter 11 - Changed By You

**AN:** I feel like this chapter might be a bit jarring. I did have other ideas but then I established a different time line for myself so I moved things around. Kyoko's relationship with Kanae will still be written about but I really love the end part, it's something I've wanted to write for a few months now. Hope you enjoy and sorry for always making this story convoluted.

 **Chapter Eleven - Changed by You**

Kuon smiled feeling extremely proud of himself as he was told that he had the role in the new play. He wasn't even Japanese and he hadn't taken that many classes but they were really impressed by his talent. He hoped that even if it wasn't the high stakes of Hollywood that his dad was invested in, his father would still feel overjoyed by how much he had done and how hard he had worked. This was a success to him even if it wasn't to anyone else.

It was as he came out of the building that he heard her voice. Had she come down here to see him? He looked around, he was very happy to have someone rooting him on but he hoped that she hadn't come down here alone. _He_ was scared to be alone down here but he had to toughen up and not admit his fear. That's what his dad did all the time.

"Kyoko?" he asked before spotting her with some creep.

Surely she had more common sense than this. He had to gather up his courage because he could protect her better than she could protect herself and maybe this creep didn't have the same interest in boys that he did with girls. It wasn't going to be like that time when he ran away. He was going to do it properly and be the knight that protected her.

"Kyoko!" he said as he ran forwards and shoved the guy away from her, "Run!" he said as Kyoko's eyes widened.

Kuon had come to rescue her. It was as if she was in the middle of one of those fairytales where the prince came to slay the dragon. However, this was Kuon who was standing up for her and Kyoko was thrilled by this change. She stood there watching him and was stunned when he glared at her, pushing the creep again, "Run!" he told her.

Kyoko blinked at him again before nodding and running off but only to a safe distance away. She took out her phone, she needed to call her dad and make those security guys come or maybe she could call the police but she had to do something. She couldn't allow her savior not to make it.

As she clumsily pressed the numbers on the phone, Kyoko could witness the fight. Her body tensed as the creep threw Kuon onto the ground and then step on him. She could see him attempting to throw stones at the pervert and then the guy grabbed his arm, bending it back and breaking it before throwing him at a brick wall. At this point the police had come but Kuon was on the ground like a crumpled ragdoll.

Kyoko got to her feet as her whole body shook and she walked over to her knight in white armor, her prince. She saw where he had smacked the back of his head on the wall and the blood that was covering his shirt and an odd part of his spine where it looked like a bone had broken.

That was the worst part.

Kyoko looked at the police officers before trying to concentrate on the boy before her. He wasn't moving. Maybe if she closed her eyes and wished really really hard she'd be back with Kanae and everything would be fine. Maybe if she wished hard enough they would all be happy together and she wouldn't be feeling as if everything around her was cracking like glass.

Tears were in her eyes as she heard the one thing that could make her breathe, "The boy's alive."

…..

…..

Kyoko looked at her father as he sat very still in the hospital and she moved over on the seat next to him almost curling into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her as he tried to keep a neutral expression on his face for her sake. He didn't want to expose her to any more sadness or pain in the world.

"Will he be okay?" Kyoko asked and Lory sighed.

"I'm not sure," he told her. He knew it wasn't the way he probably should be replying to the young girl, he knew that she wanted to have reassurance that things weren't as bad as they looked but he didn't want to give her false hope. He wanted to maintain her trust in him even if it meant that he might be breaking her heart.

"I didn't mean for it to happen," Kyoko whispered and Lory nodded as he held her close, "I was just…I wanted to see him. I wanted to hear how his audition had gone." Kyoko told him and Lory kissed the top of her head.

"That's because you are a sweet and angelic girl who cares about her friends," he said. He didn't want to mention that he was having charges pressed against this man, charges he knew he could find lawyers who almost guaranteed that this man would be locked up with the maximum possible sentence. He didn't want to tell her that he was furious that someone had approached his precious Kyoko. She was worried about her friend, nothing else really mattered.

"Is he going to be okay?" Kyoko asked and Lory sighed.

"The doctors say that he injured his spine," Lory told her as he looked ahead of him, he had already left voice messages for both Kuu and Julie discussing the severity of the situation.

"But he'll get better, right?" Kyoko asked innocently, "It'll heal. I mean maybe it'll be painful but it'll heal."

"Kyoko," Lory sighed as he brushed her hair back with his fingertips, "The chances of someone overcoming damage to their spinal cord once is really miraculous, it does happen but it's not something that happens for everyone, it takes hard work and perseverance. It's not something that you can do very easily. To have it happen twice is -"

"Kuon's one of the hardest working people that I know," Kyoko said as she looked up at her father who had sad eyes that made her doubt her own beliefs. "He'll be able to push through this and heal, I know he'll be able to."

Lory smiled at Kyoko and held her close to him again. He adored his daughter's spirit but he wasn't sure how realistic her thoughts were.

After two hours, the two of them were joined by a doctor. "He's woken up if you want to see him, I've heard that his family has been contacted," the doctor told them and Lory nodded. Kuu had gotten back to him with a frantic message where he said that he was going to be boarding the next flight and Julie had said something similar. Hopefully they would come on the same flight.

Kyoko rushed forwards and looked in the hospital room, she kept her breath caught in her chest as she clambered up to kneel opposite him. She reached out and placed a small hand on his forehead to check his temperature and saw him smile weakly. "Hey, Corn," she said as she attempted to stop the tears. She wondered whether he could move his arms and legs again. No matter what, she wanted to be there near him. She wanted to help him like she had done in the past.

"Hey," Kuon reached out for her before flinching, "Sorry," he apologized, "My hurt heads"

Kyoko blinked as she looked at him before smiling, she didn't want to correct him and she could see him moving his arms. At least he was alive and moving. They hadn't hurt him. She threw her arms around him with tears in her eyes as she gave a shaking breath. "I'm so happy you're here," she said as he held her back.

"You…won'" he said before cringing and Kyoko pulled back, "not hurt," he tried and Kyoko looked down again. He was having trouble with his placement of words. She felt horribly guilty because he wouldn't be able to perform his role anymore. She didn't want to make him feel bad so she didn't say anything about it.

"Thank you, Kuon," Kyoko whispered, "you saved my life," she said as Kuon nodded, "Can you move your legs,"

"No okay but" Kuon said and Lory walked over to Kyoko, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's let Kuon get some rest, his brain is probably a little foggy right now," Lory tried to explain. He didn't want to tell Kyoko that he wasn't sure whether Kuon's trouble speaking was temporary due to the drugs or whether it was because of the head injury. He looked at Kuon with sorrow filled eyes and a lot of compassion, "Your parents have been contacted, they're coming."

"I've let down," Kuon said as he pushed himself down into the bed and Lory shook his head,

"Kuon, if you hadn't taken on that guy then Kyoko might have been hurt or worse kidnapped. You took on a huge risk for yourself for Kyoko and I know how much you care about one another. I don't want you to look at this as something you've failed at. You did something brave and I know that you'll be able to pull through. If there's anything you need from me, let me know."

Kuon sighed and nodded. He knew that his parents would want to take him home so they could look after him. They always seemed to do that. Whenever he was ill they were always there for him but when he wasn't, they didn't seem to know that he exis- Kuon was drawn from his thoughts as Kyoko threw her arms over him and smiled.

"You're my hero, Kuon," she said before kissing his cheek, "Thank you."

"I think I might be going back to America," he told her, "I think there's a lot that I have to think about but I want to talk with you if that's okay, phone calls and emails. Kyoko, I know that I'm going to be okay because I've got the love of a great girl," he said and Kyoko smiled.

"And I've got a love from my amazing friend," she told him.

….

….

Kuon was right. Because of what had happened, he had had to be sent back home and away from his dreams but this time he felt safer, more secure. Kyoko had given him hope and trust in himself despite the way that things had ended in Japan. Kuon had told his parents that he wanted to go back to really study there in a year or so but he had told them that at this time he wanted to concentrate on himself, on building his own life.

At this moment, Kuon looked up from his wheelchair at the one other person in the waiting room at the therapist's office. A week ago, he would have been nervous about going to see a therapist especially as a newly twelve year old but the other boy in the office was making him interested. Kuon was sure that if he looked up 'cool' in a dictionary made for someone of his age, this boy's picture would be the definition.

"Rick," the older boy said to him as Kuon tried to look at the ground to not show that he was staring at this boy. "My name's Rick."

 **End of Part Three**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **I wonder if one day, I'll ever rewrite this to make it flow more easily**

 **Thank you for reviewing Chapter Ten**

Ashenvale, Aynari20, brennakai, Crazy4Animation, Erza, Kris XD, ktoll9, Mainary974, misherukuro, PaulaGaTo, Undertheskys,


	32. P4 - Chapter 1 - Important Friends

**AN:** Thanks for your patience with updates. I'm going to try to figure out a system to juggle all the things that I'm doing right now 😊 I've got two classes, work, and then I like reading as well. I have to get better at my speed for my stenography classes but I'm going to do my best 😊 so please keep reading!

 **Part Four – Chapter One: Important Friends**

Kuon stared across at the other boy sitting opposite him. He had known this boy for two weeks now and somehow it was giving him similar feelings than when he was with Kyoko. There were differences sure, but it felt good. Maybe he could even call Rick a friend of his. That would be nice, it wasn't as if he was particularly close with anyone.

"So, what does the girl think?" Rick asked him and Kuon smiled at him whilst blinking now that one of them had actually started a conversation.

"The girl…you mean Kyoko?" Kuon asked and Rick nodded, "I think she's happy that she wasn't hurt," Kuon said. He thought back on the last email that the two of them had sent where she had overloaded it with emoticons and images telling him to fight and that they were best friends forever and how she believed in him. Although he had felt special to receive so many emoticons, it was the pictures of her and Kanae that he had enjoyed the most. She had a friend. Maybe he had a friend too.

"That's good. I've always been popular with the ladies," he said as he spread his arms out whilst sitting on the sofa in the Hizuri home, "but I've never risked my health saving one of them." He leaned forwards and grinned, "You know, most guys out there consider me more of a threat then a friend," he said as Kuon looked at him confused.

"A threat…because of the girls?" he asked and Rick looked down.

"Because of one girl, she's completely clueless though, we've been friends forever but…" Rick laughed again, "I don't think she gets that I like her. That's great though, she has time to mature and then I sweep in and make my move and she never gets another guy on her mind again, see that's called strategy," Rick told him as he tapped on the side of his head and Kuon smiled.

He didn't know how to tell Rick that that plan sounded a bit too complicated. He was still attempting to get Rick to be his friend and to accept him even in a wheelchair. It was so much more difficult then it was with Kyoko. He didn't believe telling Rick that he was a fairy prince would get the same reaction.

"Is this Tina?" Kuon asked and Rick gave him a thumbs up, "Okay, now I see why the other boys consider you a rival," he laughed, "You know you're twelve right? Most twelve year olds….do most twelve years olds actually think about this?" he asked starting to shift in the chair. Maybe as an eleven-year-old he was abnormal. He knew that girls liked him and he could probably get a girlfriend if he put his mind to it but acting outranked relationships for him and that's what he wanted to concentrate on once he got out of this chair.

"You haven't been attracted to an older woman before? You know, seeing them on all those TV shows especially the movies where they show things…" Rick said with a playful grin and Kuon sighed with a smile. He heard the front door getting unlocked and looked at Rick whilst shaking his head.

"I've grown up with two actors as parents, my parents have introduced their friends to me. It would feel weird if I was ever watching a movie and thought about them that way," he said honestly before seeing his father enter the room. Even after a short time, his parents trusted Rick which Kuon was happy about. Rick had informed him how there weren't a lot of people who _did_ trust him so earning the seal of approval from the Hizuri family was like a gateway into freedom. Still, even with how much Kuu and Julie trusted the twelve-year-old, Kuu had taken a lot fewer jobs so to spend more time with Kuon. Hopefully it wasn't guilt motivating him.

"Hey," Kuu said as he stood in the doorway and looked between the two boys, "How are you, Rick?" he asked as he protectively walked over to Kuon and set a hand on his son's shoulder, smiling down at him with such love and warmth that Kuon was reminded of Kyoko.

"Great, Mr. Hizuri, I was going to head home," he said and Kuon looked between the two of them. "I'll see you tomorrow," Rick said as he started to get his things together. Kuu looked at him in shock and then sighed. The Hizuris knew that Rick wasn't very happy when there was an adult in the room. There was a problem with authority in his family, no child abuse but sometimes Rick's father put too much pressure on him to perform well. Being around Kuu made him feel more awkward.

Kuu walked over to the brunette, "Did you want a ride home?" he asked and Rick grinned back in his charismatic way.

"No need, I've got my own ride," he said before gesturing to the bike at the side of the house. "Later, Mr. Hizuri," he said before leaving and Kuon smiled. He watched as his father approached him and Kuu sat down on the sofa opposite him, taking Rick's place.

"Did I disturb something between the two of you?" he asked and Kuon shook his head, "He's a nice kid. We're always happy for him to come over," he said before sighing. "Are you doing okay?" he asked and Kuon rolled his eyes but then nodded. He had really messed up his time in Japan so he could understand how overprotective his dad was. Even before the accident, he had been overprotective.

"I'm doing well, it was a good day," Kuon said before seeing his dad grin. Kuon shifted a little. "Dad, does having a son in a wheelchair….is that…"

"Don't even think about asking me if it's any trouble or inconvenience. You're my kid," Kuu said proudly, "I love you. So, how about we do something together tonight, maybe play that video game you got," he said and Kuon shook his head. "Okay, a movie? Or we could even go out or…."

"Dad," Kuon said as they made eye contact with each other, "Can you teach me how to cook another meal?" he asked and Kuu smiled excitedly.

"Of course, let's do that…it sounds like a blast" he said with his smile growing, "anything you want to cook?"

"How about hamburger with egg on top?" Kuon asked, "There's somebody that I'd really love to impress."

…..

…

Kanae looked at the doll that she had in her hand. Why had this always felt so stupid to her? Maybe it was because dolls had elaborate outfits and seemed to have endless financial resources so they could do whatever they wanted without thinking of the consequences? Maybe it seemed foolish to attach a personality to something that looked like _this_ , this weird sexualized play thing, but she had to admit that she was enjoying it. Or maybe she was just enjoying her time with this excitable girl opposite her.

"I love your new dress, where did you get it?" the doll that Kyoko was playing with asked Kanae's doll.

"I thought you made it," Kanae said in a monotone as she looked across at Kyoko with a blunt expression on her face. "I'm not sure if you should say that you love it when you personally created it," she told her honestly and Kyoko shook her head.

"No… it's because I made it to be beautiful," she said with a whine and fake tears, "You're so mean, Kanae-chan," she grinned and Kanae smiled. She had to admit that Kyoko had been able to get used to her and with this fake emotion directed at her, Kanae knew that she hadn't actually insulted her best friend. When Kyoko got upset she didn't talk so any kind of emotional response showed that she wasn't too upset.

"Oh," Kanae said as she made the doll look around, "There's a fashion store in this neighborhood. You wouldn't think I'd try to wear anything cheap would you but look at this uhh…this nice print and the texture of this uh…fabric?"

"Oh yes, you look so beautiful in it," Kyoko said with a grin as Kanae looked at her more than the actual dolls that Kyoko had begged to play with and then told Kanae that it was acting practice and Kanae couldn't help but to want to practice acting no matter the stupidity of the form that it took.

"You look more uh…beautiful in yours?" she tried to state but it came out as more of a question.

"Oh, you're so nice to me," Kyoko said as she made the doll twirl, "Thank you so much. What a great friendship we have, let's go and get some cake to celebrate our friendship."

"I don't want to get fat," Kanae made her doll say and then looked at Kyoko, "Sorry, yeah uh…let's go get some…" she said and Kyoko put the doll down with a sigh.

"Did I not do it right?" Kanae asked as Kyoko looked at her and put her hands down flatly on the surface. "I don't know, don't you think that dolls are too…."

"It's okay, it's not about the dolls," Kyoko said as she looked at her friend. She smiled happily and Kanae exhaled in relief, she hadn't screwed this up. "I was just thinking that Kuon didn't stay here very long but even if we couldn't spend much time together as friends, he sent me a picture of a new friend he made already."

"That's good," Kanae shrugged not knowing what else to say about it. "I mean, I'm very glad that I've got you as a friend even if we do play with dolls," she said and Kyoko pushed her playfully.

"That's cruel, dolls are so much fun to play with," she said before she looked down. "Kanae-chan, have you ever had a crush?"

Kanae blinked back, her face blank and she raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"I mean, I think that I love Kuon and I want to be his bride someday," Kyoko said and Kanae stared at her again. What was this girl thinking about? She had _never_ experienced these thoughts of her own. She looked at her before sighing, she should really work on her interpersonal skills. She had never really been the best at those.

"I think you shouldn't worry about things like that," Kanae shrugged, "Thinking about guys _now_ is only going to cause you to fall into stupidity. Focus on yourself and then maybe in ten years think about guys again…or maybe never."

Kyoko looked down before nodding, "Do you think he thinks that way, that he won't get a girlfriend?"

Kanae continued to stare at the other girl. What was she supposed to do with this information? How was she supposed to respond? These were thoughts that she had never had. They were too young to be thinking about things like this right?

"I have no idea," she told her, "but maybe get him a gift?" she shrugged and Kyoko jumped up excitedly.

"Yes! I'll get him a gift and then every time he thinks of it, he'll think of me," she said before throwing her arms around Kanae who wasn't sure how to handle this. Still, wanting to be a good friend, she patted Kyoko's back. Some girls, including her friend, were crazy but she couldn't help but to love her anyway.

 **End of 4.1**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **So, people who review another of my fics have told me that they like responses to the reviews so I'm going to try that with my other fics. I hope that you'll consider it a positive thing**

Brennakai: There's going to be more exploration of their friendship in part 4 especially with Rick and Kanae there for them as well

Erza: We'll have to see but I'm going to have fun writing him

Kris XD: Yep, he deserves the wrath of Lory Takarada indeed

Mainaru974: Hope you enjoyed

MetroNeko: Yes, but he has some other things to go through right now before he can be Ren again

Misherokuro: Yes, all set up for part 4

MuraKaze: I hope I don't make you cry too much and thank you

Renkyokocanon: We'll have to see. At least she's not drugged and on a railing 😉


	33. P4 - Chapter 2 - Passion Projects

**AN:** Just a personal thing. I hate having to unplug from a story but I just put a story on hiatus because I have no idea how to proceed with it. It's called, "The Voice" and I want to apologize to anyone who has been waiting for it to be updated. Once I finish a few other fics, I might go back and reread it and maybe even rewrite it but for everyone who enjoyed that fic, my apologies. I do hope you enjoy this fic and my others as well though 😊

 **Chapter Two – Passion Projects**

Kyoko tried to think about what kind of thing a guy would like. She knew that Kanae probably wouldn't be of much help since she didn't think about boys in any kind of positive light and it would be strange asking one of the house staff and especially her father. When it came to a gift for a boy it had to be personal and something that they wouldn't immediately throw into the bin although that did seem very unlike Kuon, she couldn't imagine him just disposing of a gift if she made him one.

Maybe she could bake him some cookies although….those wouldn't really travel very well to the United States and she couldn't send them in an email. She also wasn't sure how they would last after traveling all that distance. She smiled softly before trying to think of what else she could do. She could make him some clothing but she was really more interested in creating skirts and dresses and just thinking of Corn wearing those things made her giggle.

Maybe a book cover, a really nicely made book cover….that would stay on a book and maybe he would forget about it and she wouldn't be able to talk to him about it. Or maybe it didn't have to be something too complicated, he had sent her stickers before and he had sent her some Disney memorabilia that she couldn't get in Japan. Maybe she could find him something that he liked that they didn't sell in America.

She wasn't sure, all the things that he seemed to enjoy came from America.

She sighed before looking out the window at a bird. He loved nature. Even when they had first met, he loved pointing out different animals to her or explaining why the trees were different. At that time she had thought that it was because he was a fairy and these weren't things that they had in the fairy kingdom. The fairy kingdom would have to have different trees and plants and flowers.

Kuon was an explorer and although he couldn't do that in a wheelchair very well, he had a very adventurous spirit and so maybe…. Kyoko's head shot up and she smiled excitedly. She could make him a bag and sew a bird picture onto it in the top corner so that only he could see it. He would need something like that to put his things in and she could also try and write him a short script and put it in the bag before she sent it.

She didn't want to feel too arrogant about it but she could always run lines through with Kanae and see if she thought it was any good before she sent it to him. It didn't even have to have love in it. It could just be her trying to create a script that showed their friendship and then she would have personalized too things. She picked up her pencils before designing a bag and thinking of what fabric to use. Maybe ethically sourced leather might be nice with a strap.

Hopefully he could use this bag during his adventures and maybe she could even put a spell on it to ask for him to be kept safe. She knew in the future that they would meet again but hopefully he would be kept safe for them to do so. She didn't want him to be hurt anymore she was too in love with him to want something like that.

…..

…

"Well just a little bit more and it'll be perfect," Kuu smiled to his son as he looked at all of the burgers that they had already made. He wondered if a normal father would have stopped long before they had piled the ten burgers this high but he wasn't a normal father because of his stomach capacity and Kuon was someone who always had to at least try his hardest.

It did make Kuu worry sometimes though. Kuon might be pushing himself too much and trying to take on more than he was able. Kuon wasn't the type of person who would stop and ask for help and Kuu had to monitor him closely. Kuon was already in a wheelchair, if he felt like a failure because of his cooking skills that might depress him more.

"Did you want to take a break?" Kuu asked as he looked over at Kuon concerned.

"Is it because I usually take no interest in food that I can't shape them correctly?" Kuon asked and Kuu looked over at the oval shaped burgers. Sure they weren't round but he was looking forward to eating them. "They have to look like rocks right?" he asked and Kuu's mouth dropped open. What did Kuon mean by _that?_

"No, I'd say that there is no perfect way of shaping them and yours look good to me," he said with a thumbs up and a happy expression.

Kuon tensed up and looked at his dad, "They don't look like rocks?" he asked, "I mean don't you press down on them when you're cooking them so that they flatten out but usually they are like rocks?" he asked and Kuu stared at him.

"We could make some rock cakes," he suggested before turning down the heat on the stove and pulling out a chair to sit opposite his son. "Why the sudden interest in cooking anyway? Is there a girl that you want to impress? A lot of girls are impressed by a guy with any culinary skills. Just make her cookies or cupcakes or something like that and sweep her off her feet."

Kuon laughed and shook his head, "I'm not looking to sweep her off her feet, I don't want to be in a relationship right now. I just want her to be happy."

Kuu nodded and he looked over at the pile of burgers thoughtfully, "You know, love or even affection isn't determined by your results. When your mother and I were first dating I wanted to do anything to make her happy, I was really head over heels obsessed with her," he laughed before pushing his blond hair back. "I kept making a lot of mistakes. I would buy her flowers and then I'd get so interested in the food that I was eating whilst waiting for her that I would forget her flowers or I would try to bring her coffee at work but have to wait for her to finish the show and then drink it all myself. She still loved that I was trying though. It was the attempts that made her feel special and then she'd pick out a bouquet of flowers and I'd buy it for her or we'd go and get more coffee together. It's the thought that matters."

"Even if they are far away," Kuon said and Kuu nodded.

"Especially if they are far away from you. It's always nice to know that someone who can't see you every day cares about you enough to keep you in their thoughts," he grinned, "are you trying to impress Kyoko-chan. She's a very mature girl isn't she," he smiled. "If you had to think of any younger girl as pretty or have special feelings for them then I'm glad it's her," he told Kuon before seeing the twelve year old's face turn a deep red.

"Dad," he moaned looking down, "These aren't romantic burgers this is just….it's just that burgers are her favorite and….and I want to see her smile because….because I hate seeing her sad. These are _not_ romantic burgers."

Kuu smiled, "Okay," he said with a grin, "Did you want to try again?"

"Let's just cook these last two and eat them together," he said and Kuu nodded. He did have to admit that he found it adorable how much of a bond Kyoko and Kuon had formed. Hopefully this would continue and Kuon would be twenty two and he would find an eighteen year old, legal aged, Kyoko waiting for him. That would be just like a great love epic.

….

….

Kyoko patiently waited at her computer, she knew it was a little early since Kuon had a regular time when he would email her but she always got excited when he emailed her before school. He had to choose his times carefully and she was thinking that he had sent the email using a timer so it would automatically send. If that was the case then she only had to wait about five minutes and then she would think of her answer through the rest of the day.

As she sat watching anxiously at her computer, she held her hands together and tried to get the computer to beep or buzz. She wanted to read his words and make sure that he was okay. Maybe she shouldn't be feeling this way about an older boy, she wasn't his mother or anything but he didn't even understand the joy that his existence brought to her.

She heard a knock on the door as a maid stood there with the phone in her hands, "Miss. Kyoko, there's someone calling for you," she smiled and Kyoko blinked.

Maybe once she was done with the phone call, his email would be there for her to read. She could step away for just a moment, right? She sighed and then went to the phone not allowing her positive energy to drop. She cradled it in her hands before speaking softly, "Hello, Mogami Kyoko speaking."

"Hi," the voice on the other end said and Kyoko's eyes brightened as she bowed to thank the maid and went to close her door, seating herself on the bed with her legs over the edge. "It's Kuon, is this a bad time to be calling."

"No, no this is good, I was waiting for your email," Kyoko smiled as she felt her cheeks getting a little warmer. "How about you, is this a good time for you to talk?"

"I wouldn't be calling you if it wasn't and about the email, I'll make sure to write you one when we're done with our phone call. I just missed hearing your voice," he grinned and Kyoko felt the rush of warmth in her cheeks again. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You don't need to do that, umm…hearing your voice is good enough," she said before looking down. "How are you? How's your family?"

"They're good, my dad and I cooked today. I've always taken it for granted how hard it is to make a meal," he laughed, "how about you?"

"I spent time with Kanae-chan yesterday, I don't think Kanae-chan is the type of person who likes playing with dolls," she giggled but then froze when she heard his soft chuckle. "What food did you make?" she asked as she reached out to hold a photo taken of the two of them together. She missed him a lot but she was glad he hadn't stopped talking to her.

"We tried making burgers," Kuon replied, "I thought maybe you could try them next time you come to visit us," he told her and Kyoko gasped before saying happily.

"I'd really love that, Kuon!"

 **End of Chapter Two**

 **Thank you for choosing to read it**

 **Thank you to reviewers of Part Four : Chapter One**

AmandaLucia: I am honored that you feel for my story like that. There will be many changes but as for what you will have to wait and see 😉

KrisXD: Hopefully my writing didn't disappoint

Paulagato: I'm really hoping to work on personal growth within Part Four so hopefully it will get more tender

 **And finally to all those people who offered me support I'd like to say thank you.**

Erza, Guest x2, misao97, sunshinehat, uselessname


	34. P4 - Chapter 3 - Trial and Error

**AN:** I really really hope you enjoy this chapter 😊

 **Chapter Three: Trial and Error**

Kuon rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he heard someone ringing the buzzer from the front gate. It was far too early for anyone sane to be awake and the only reason why his parents weren't here was that they had stopped being sane a long time ago. Maybe he should try to go back to bed and ignore the idea of entertaining company. He could always try and read a little bit more about burgers or try different recipes but first he had to pay attention to that damn buzzing.

"Hello," Kuon said as he pressed the intercom button, "Hello, who's there?"

"Are you going to let me in you little brat," a cheery voice was heard on the other end of the phone line and Kuon smiled. He had no idea why Rick was here, usually Rick would say that he wouldn't come out in the sunlight because it was uncool and he had to preserve his image. He would never come out of the house at any time earlier than noon and this was a _lot_ earlier than noon.

The twelve year old hoped there wasn't a problem but even if there was, usually friendships would strengthen over problems. He waited for Rick to come in and opened the door, wheeling himself out of the house so that he could see the black haired guy bounding over the grass.

"Are you actually aware of what time it is?" Kuon asked with a grin and Rick rolled his eyes.

"I'm so cool now that I can be out this early and people will just follow my lead," he said and Kuon laughed softly. "I mean, how could I not come over and see my best friend when we have those rumors floating around that there is some girl with a crush on _the_ Kuon Hizuri," Rick said and Kuon blinked back before laughing lightly.

"So, there are a lot of girls that have told me they like me," he shrugged, "plus, they don't really know me. It's probably their own imaginations that they're in love with," he said as Rick made a scorching sound.

"Burn," he said before shaking his hand as if he were trying to cool it down. "But I know what you're referring to, a normal girl being in love with you is just…well whatever, this girl is a gymnast so you know that she's flexible," Rick said with a thumbs up and Kuon looked at him. He paused before starting to wheel himself into the house.

"I've had enough of this foolishness, goodbye," Kuon said bluntly before he went back into the living room but Rick followed after him.

"Dude, you've really got to start claiming those hearts, just be like this really cool monster who goes through the wood and eats hearts from beautiful maidens," Rick suggested as Kuon started to laugh. "I have to live through you because I mean…I do have a date with someone tomorrow, I'm going to start trying to figure out better ways of drawing the women I desire to me."

"My dad says that you just have to be honest with your feelings and treat them as people and try to show how much you care about them," Kuon said and Rick stared at him.

"That's what your dad says?" he asked with a wooden expression on his face, "That's what those freaking knights did in Carmel,"

"I think you mean Camelot, Rick," Kuon said before shrugging, "I mean, I always thought that that was a great way to sweep a woman off of her feet. It'll be a long time since I'm riding any horses but to just impress a woman and have them fall in love with you. Give them jewelry or chocolates or promises that you don't intend to keep," he said before pausing. No, that last one didn't sound right at all.

"Don't you get it, that's really really old, like hundreds of centuries," he tried to explain as he stretched his arms out. "I'm taking about being the candle and having the moth fly to you. I mean that's the best way because you're not putting additional effort in, you have to match the partner but you don't have to stalk her."

Kuon blinked, "Can we agree to disagree on this?" he asked before Rick ran a hand through his hair. "How's…therapy going for you."

"Dude, don't get me down from this high I've got going on, this great mood," Rick sighed, "I have to be slick and concentrate on how I'm going to work on my natural energy for my babes. I need at least one good looking girl to go out with me and then Tina will get interested in me again."

Kuon sighed, he knew that the two of them would most likely be going out together were they actually talking about it. Maybe childhood romances never worked and Kuon did like the idea of them being friends more than them dating because it would most likely help Rick be happier in the long term, but talking was always best. Still, he would do anything for his friend and if this was what Rick needed to believe then Kuon would make an attempt to believe it as well.

….

….

Kyoko grinned as she rushed into her bedroom after she and Kanae had come to the Takarada home after Kanae had finished her acting classes. Apparently Kyoko had made something or found something that had made her start chattering away like a chipmunk. It was some kind of story or writing or journal and it was something that she wanted to share with Kuon. Kanae had no idea why she was going to be shown this.

She sighed, she'd look at it anyway. Anything that made her happy was worth it even if it was some dramatized love thing between Kyoko and her prince Corn. She saw the girl excitedly rush back holding up a paper and she smiled. At least Kyoko was happy, that was the most important thing.

"I've found it Kanaaaae!" Kyoko smiled and Kanae stared at her. "I mean, I finished it. I found the ending!" she said whilst almost jumping on top of her friend and tackling her to the ground. Kanae smiled as she pushed Kyoko back just a little bit.

"Okay, explain," she said and Kyoko jumped up and down a little before taking some calming breaths.

"I wrote a drama for Kuon," she said as she showed Kanae the script and Kanae looked at it. It was called The Lonely Prince. Kanae stared at the cover where Kyoko had drawn a picture of Kuon looking into the distance. Kanae would say that the picture looked cute, maybe if they just focused on the picture then they wouldn't have to even discuss what the contents were.

"Nice, it's so cool that you wrote that," Kanae said with a smile and Kyoko hugged her again.

"Thank you, will you read it with me?" she asked and Kanae took a step backwards. She didn't know what to say. Kyoko had stressed that Kanae had free choice over her decisions and they wouldn't do anything that Kanae didn't want to do but with the president helping her, would that mean she would never be able to argue with the girl oppo-

"I think you should read it," Lory said as he stood in the doorway, "Now where's my hug," he said and Kyoko giggled before jumping into her dad's arms. She had grown to love this man, the man who adopted her when he really didn't have to, so much. He was always trying his hardest and there were so many things that they had in common.

Kanae's back straightened and she nodded quickly, "Of course. Of course, I'll do anything that Kyoko wants to do," she said with a smile, "I really like Kyoko and as a frie-"

"You don't have to do everything that I say," Kyoko said, "I thought that you were my friend for real," she had tears in her eyes and Kanae panicked.

"No no no, that wasn't it at all, I really do like you Kyoko," she said. She hated seeing this girl with this amazing heart and amazing soul have anything other than happiness and joy in her expression. Kanae didn't want to feel as if she had caused this heartache.

"And it wasn't what I meant either," Lory said and Kanae looked at him, "I'm not bribing you or paying you to be friends with my daughter, I would never do something like that. However, you say that you already carry the passion that a working actress twice your age would have," he said and Kanae nodded slowly, "then why wouldn't you want to perform _any_ part?"

"I…" Kanae paused, "I'm not really interested in love," she said and Kyoko sighed and shook her head, putting two fingers to her forehead but Lory continued to talk.

"When it comes to love, you don't have to think of it as some strange idea," he said, "you could say that Kyoko loves you and you love her," he said and Kanae bit her lip before nodding and Kyoko started to skip around excitedly. "The idea of love isn't something you know in your head, it's something you know in your heart and you can't be afraid of exploring new ground," Lory smiled and then laughed. "But at the age and level you are with your acting, I don't think that the Japanese public will need to feel raw love from you."

"So, will you read with me?" Kyoko asked as she held the script up again and Kanae nodded.

"You want me to read the part of the prince, right?" she asked and Kyoko nodded quickly. "Okay, but my love confessions are going to suck," she commented and Kyoko giggled.

"That's alright, Kanae-chan," she said with a smile. "It's not a love story, it's about friendship," she giggled and Kanae's smile grew stronger.

"Okay," she said with real passion in her voice now, "Let's do this thing."

…

…

Kuu smiled as he ate his lunch by himself whilst looking over a book. He didn't bring anything that could be linked to Kuon with him to work but he didn't really enjoy socializing with the cast and crew in the way that he once did. He paused, his body straightening as a woman approached him and he smiled to her. "Hi," he recognized her as one of the casting agents.

"You have a son who is a teenager, right?" she asked and Kuu smiled as he thought about Kuon, a topic he loved to discuss.

"He's twelve, not a teenager yet but give him one more year," he smiled before grinning. "Why?"

"How would he like to audition for a small role? I heard that he's in a wheelchair and that will actually be to his advantage since the character has to be in a wheelchair," the agent said and Kuon nodded eagerly. He hoped that it would be okay for Kuon to get this role because a woman was…..wasn't this the opposite of what Kuon wanted?

"Can I ask him about it first, see how he feels?" Kuu inquired, "He's never done any acting in his wheelchair, I don't want him to feel unco-"

"He hasn't done any serious acting anyway," an actress said as she approached the two of them. "He's not an actor, he's just some kid who wants to ride on his parents coattails. If he actually put in some work then he _might_ make it but he's a spoiled and lazy brat whose biggest claim to fame is that he made Julienna Hizuri miss wor-"

"How dare you insult my son," Kuu said as a fire burned in his eyes. "How dare you trample his dreams just to get your own kid whatever it is you want him to get." Kuu looked down, "I have all the belief in the world for Kuon's abilities and know he'll be a great actor one day. It's people like you that I feel sorry for, I don't know the fate for unethical witches."

Kuu stood up and thanked the casting agent before going to sit at a different table. How dare they try to hurt his son.

 **End of Chapter Three**

 **Thank you for choosing to read**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed Chapter Two**

AmbersandEmeralds: Different life challenges for them and a lot of plots and subplots so we'll have to see what is going to happen.

KrisXD: I think that sometimes Kuon and yes, Ren, too have their adorably silly moments tentekomai

Mainaru974: Hope you enjoyed

Misherukuro: I do get what you mean and your review made me feel all sparkly and special 😊

Paulagato: Well they will continue to think about one another 😊


	35. P4 - Chapter 4 - Important Things

**AN:** There is more Hizuri in this chapter than Kyoko but I hope you still enjoy

 **Chapter Four: Important Things**

When he had told Julie of what had happened, she hadn't seemed as angry as he had expected her too. She was saying that unfortunately what happened with Kuon was just the failings of the American entertainment industry. She wasn't as enraged as Kuu was that somebody could be treating their own such with such disdain. Kuu, however felt unrest over it. How was his son going to achieve his dreams if this was the attitude surrounding him.

Kuu sighed as he read over the script that he had just received from his agency. He would have to memorize these lines fast because of a delay in the writing department. He could do it though. He had memorized much longer things in half the time. He just had to keep his mind focu-

"That's Kuu Hizuri," he heard an unknown woman say and kept his head bowed. Even of the set people would sometimes get excited about seeing a celebrity. The fact that he looked Japanese in part and that his dyed hair made him look more American as well would sometimes draw people over. He had been scouted for modeling agencies before he even began dying his hair.

His son was even more gorgeous than he was, well Kuu tried his hardest not to apply such words as gorgeous to himself so he wanted to emphasize that Kuon was more gorgeous than he was. He was more intelligent than the average kid, more talented, and when he got out of the wheelchair he would show them that his athletic skills could come back again. Yes, Kuon could outshine everyone.

"Isn't his son that cripple?" he heard another woman say and Kuu froze, his body turning numb as he tried not to draw attention to himself. He had to control the anger. Not doing so would only hurt his own image and that might translate badly not only to Kuon but to Julie as well.

"I don't think that's a nice way of putting it at all," the first woman said and that helped Kuu steady himself. "I mean, he doesn't mean to be in a wheelchair and shouldn't he -"

"I'm not talking about his body," the second woman said and Kuu froze again. No. He couldn't just sit here and hear this. He had to get himself turned around so that he could yell at the women that they had absolutely no right to treat his son in such a manner. "I'm talking about his mind. He's really very stu-"

"Is that what you think?" Kuu asked as his hands shook and he glared at them, acting in a way that could be very bad for him if a photographer were to take a picture right now. "Do you think that my son is stupid? I'm extremely proud of my son," he said as he challenged them to argue against him. "He's intelligent. He might not be able to move his legs but that doesn't take away the fact that he's intelligent and I'm sick of tuning you people out."

The first woman gasped but the second woman took a step forward.

"And who do you consider yourself being when you say that? People have always been-"

"I know, people have always said these things about my son, tried to put him down and I didn't listen and he got hurt and depressed but I promise you that I'm listening now. Even if I implode my own career, at least I had a chance. I'm fine with destroying my own life so that he has a chance to have one," Kuu said and the first woman looked down, her head bowed.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, "I would hate for my child to be spoken about in such a manner. I truly am very sorry," she said and the second woman rolled her eyes.

"I'm very sorry for you, your son will achieve nothing in his life," the second woman said, "he'll just be a blank space with no career to speak of, only known as the black ink stain on Kuu Hizuri's life," she said and Kuu looked at her almost viscously. How could these people even exist? What did they have against a twelve-year-old?

…..

…..

Kuon grinned as he picked up the mail for that day, he sorted through it, creating a pile for each of his parents before stopping at a box which had Kyoko's handwriting on it. Her handwriting was always so sweet, it was in English and she had tried to do each letter correctly, so they looked printed. He smiled as he opened the package and looked at the bag that was inside.

She had really put so much hard work and care into creating this for him and it showed. She must have picked out fabric that would look professional and thought about him with each part of the process. He ran his fingers over the buttons and zips thinking about how thoughtful she had been in selecting just the right ones. This was kindness and friendship of which he had never had before.

Hopefully Kyoko would find herself surrounded by friends that she could hold as treasured as he held her. As he opened the pockets, his hands went over a stapled collection of papers and his eyes lit up as he pulled out a script. She really had written him something so that he could keep on remembering his acting goal.

This bag was now a valuable treasure to him and he wanted to reciprocate the action somehow. He hummed to himself as he held the script in his hands. She had belief in him. She believed that he was going to be a great actor and that's what he needed since he had started to lose that kind of faith and belief in himself.

He wanted her to be proud to be his friend and as he closed his eyes and smelled the soft strawberry scent of the script, he could imagine himself standing on a stage and basking in the glow of the stage lights with an older form of Kyoko clapping her hands wildly as she believed in him and congratulated him. He smiled happily as he remained in that moment before pausing.

She was four years younger than him. He was fantasizing about someone who was four years younger than him. He should stop that and just be happy that they were friends. Maybe if he was twenty-two and she was eighteen then it would be okay but that would be in ten years and a lot could change in ten years.

He heard his cell phone ring and his eyes drifted towards it as Rick's name flashed on the screen. He should start thinking about Kyoko in the same way that he thought about Rick. A friend who he was not at all attracted to but wanted to support and wanted to be happy. That was the only normal way of handling this. He could not be in a relationship, whatever the actual meaning of a relationship was, with someone who was four years younger than him. It was cruelty and manipulation.

"Hi, Kuon speaking," Kuon grinned as he lay the bag on his lap.

"You sound happy, dude," Rick laughed and Kuon bowed his head. Was it that obvious how much joy Kyoko's present had brought him. "Don't tell me you experienced the thing?" he asked and Kuon frowned in confusion.

"The thing?" he asked. He didn't want to admit that half the time he was a little concerned about what Rick was actually talking about. Rick had the cool guy image and Rick tried to have that image and sometimes Kuon felt a little out of the loop. His dad had always attempted to encourage him to be himself.

"You know, when you go into the bathroom by yourself and you feel that thing?" Rick asked, "Have you discovered it?"

Kuon rolled his eyes, "Isn't that just for like adults?" he asked with a shrug.

"Dude, you have to try it…it's pretty coo-" Rick said but Kuon cut him off. He was twelve. He wasn't going to start thinking about pleasuring himself and having sex with girls no matter how important it was to Rick to experience those things. Acting gave him the same rush of adrenaline anyway. He wanted to get better and then he wanted to act, fooling around with girls was only fun for him if they were performing a scene.

"So why did you call me?" Kuon asked with an awkward laugh. Was his mind supposed to be designed more like Rick's? Was he broken when it came to being a man? Was this the kind of disturbing imagery that clouded his dad's….WOAH, no do not go there.

"My dad's decided to take me to Japan and I wanted to know if I got get Kyoko's address and see if we're close by," Rick said and Kuon felt his eyes widen. What was going on?

"You want Kyoko's…address?" Kuon asked, trying to repeat the question, "Uh…she doesn't have one."

"She doesn't have an address?" Rick asked and Kuon felt his stomach twist. Was this okay? He didn't want them to meet as they both represented different parts of his life. Kuon felt his heart twist in his chest. "Dude, okay she doesn't have an address," Rick laughed. "You care if I come over?" he asked and Kuon smiled, hoping that the subject of Rick and Kyoko meeting could be dropped at this point.

"Sure, you can come over," he smiled not sure why he felt so much on edge.

…..

…..

As Kyoko finished her homework, she looked at her email inbox. She wanted to read over some of the past emails between her and Kuon, they always made her feel good. Even though she had other friends and those friends weren't so far away, Kuon was so special to her. He was the one who she could just think about and she would stop crying and the sun would shine.

Her eyes lit up as she saw that there was an email from Kuon with an attachment to it. She quickly scanned the email.

 _Thank you so much for the gift, Kyoko!_

 _I'm really happy to have received it. I know you put your heart into it so thank you so much. I promise that I'll use it a lot. Thank you for your hard work. I'm happy to have a friend who will do something for me like this. Hope you like the attachments_

 _Kuon_

Kyoko looked down at the attachments and blushed as she clicked on a couple of photos with Kuon holding and wearing the bag that she had made for him. The third attachment though was one that she was more curious about. It was an audio file. She clicked on it nervously.

"This is to thank you for the script, I noticed that the characters didn't have gender and so I thought I'd read it," Kuon said and Kyoko felt a blissful emotion surround her at just hearing the sound of his voice. Her eyes widened as she heard his natural voice as he read the words she had written for him and then a playful second voice as he read for the other character. She laughed loudly with happy tears in her eyes.

"Thank you," she smiled after he had finished and she put her hands over her heart, "Thank you, Kuon."

 **End of Chapter Four**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thanks for the Chapter Three Reviews**

Brennakai: I'm glad you liked it 😊

Kris XD: Well, I did change one huge element about the situation Kuon grew up in, Kuu is more alert to it this time 😊

Miss Elyon: Thank you so much, hope that I haven't let you down 😊


	36. P4 - Chapter 5 - Opportunities

**AN:** Hope you enjoy this chapter 😊

 **Chapter Five: Opportunities**

Kuon stared in utter amazement at the email that he had just received. After recording his voice reading Kyoko's script, he had done a search on voice acting. He had just wanted to find out what it involved and whether there would be any chance of him pursuing it in the future. Maybe he had just been curious about the different focuses of acting that existed outside of what his dad did, maybe something more but he would never have found it were it not for Kyoko.

He had been searching for things on how to get into the voice over industry and had been reading things about different anime that were in Japan and how Japanese students sometimes went to voice academy schools. There weren't such things that he could find in America, at least not for his age, and then he had come upon something interesting.

There was a blind audition process for a new Disney show. The show focused on a princess in Hawaii who had a kid brother who was always getting into trouble. It was just the type of show that Kyoko might like. There were audition pieces and Kuon didn't think that he would get anywhere but he could still see Kyoko's excited face if he told her that he had auditioned.

So, he had. He had spent a long time practicing and then he had recorded his voice onto the computer and sent an email with them to the casting director and then a week later they had sent him the email that he was staring at now.

 _Kuon,_

 _Congratulations, we'd love to extend an invitation for an in-person audition to play the role of Kahiau in our project Hawaiian Melodies. Please print out the following document and we can arrange a date and time for you to come and audition. We do require a parent or guardian's signature as well as for a parent or guardian to accompany you to the audition._

 _We hope to hear from you soon._

Kuon froze, he didn't really know how to express his excitement. Finally somebody was giving him a chance and they were allowing him to be happy but he was scared of falling into a trap. He was scared that the only reason they had wanted him was because the name Hizuri would stand out in the marketing process. He frowned. Maybe he should give up on it now, no way he could perform to the standards that people knew his father of having.

He sighed before hearing his dad in the kitchen and pinched himself. It was best to ask him about it anyway, to ask him what he thought of the opportunity at least. His dad would most likely feel hurt if he just gave up on it because of him.

After printing the document, Kuon made his way to the kitchen to see that his dad was snacking again. Of course his father was snacking _again_.

"Dad," Kuon said hesitantly and Kuu immediately turned to face him, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," Kuu said as he approached his son and pulled out a chair from the little dining spot in the kitchen. He sat opposite Kuon, his eyes showing all of his love for his son. He looked at the paper in his hands and paused. He had no idea what Kuon would ask him but he wanted to do his duty as his father and if there was something Kuon needed, he would try to give it to him.

"What's going on? What's up?" he asked and Kuon looked at the paper.

He didn't know how to tell his father that he had been selected for an audition process for a Disney show. He didn't know how to tell his dad that he hoped to show Kyoko what her gift had brought him and that he hoped she would be a fan of the show. No, he shouldn't try to think about what happened after landing the role. Instead he should feel happy that he was even given the opportunity to auditon for the role.

"I…" Kuon said awkwardly, "There was this thing…I know that I've failed before…I really don't want to let you down…and," Kuon nervously shifted as he handed his dad the printed out document along with the email that he had printed out and saw Kuu look over it. He saw his dad's curious expression turn into one full of pride and excitement.

"A voice audition," he said as he looked at the paper and then smiled to Kuon, "Did you want me to come with you or would you prefer your mother?" he asked and Kuon looked down.

"I'd want you to come, Dad, but…what if they only like me because I'm _your_ son. I know that in the past other directors have only wanted to use me because I'm your kid and…and I don't have the skills that you do, not yet. What if they…"

"Would you feel better using another name?" Kuu asked and laughed softly at the shock that Kuon expressed by just being asked that question. "No, it's really okay with me if you'd like to use a name other than Hizuri. I'm not going to take it as an insult," he laughed before ruffling up Kuon's hair. He glanced down at the forms again, "Kuon, you're amazing. You went out and got this on your own. You really are showing your independence. I'm really proud of you and I feel that you _are_ going to get this role."

"Dad," Kuon hesitated, "You shouldn't say things like that. I might not get the role. They might be completely let down by my skills," he said and Kuu shook his head.

"You need to start believing in yourself more and I promise not to get myself involved but I believe that you can do it. I believe that one day you'll be a great actor with more talent then I ever had," he said and Kuon froze before smiling weakly.

"Don't you need to say that?" he asked and Kuu blinked. "You're my dad, you're supposed to say those things to me."

"I consider it a great privilege," Kuu said with a hand pressed over his heart, "To be able to say those things to my son. It's one of my two greatest achievements, being your father," he said and Kuon smiled.

"Is the other -" he began but Kuu cut him off.

"Being your mother's husband," Kuu grinned as he beamed back at Kuon, glowing with the joy of a loving and supportive father.

…..

…..

"I have no interest in designing clothes," Kanae said as she looked at the book that Kyoko was holding to her. It was a catalogue of classes that could be taken in the higher class area of Tokyo and Kyoko wanted to go to the class on how to make and design clothes and accessories. It was a twelve week long course and then if you passed that class you might get an invitation to the second part of it.

The third class in the series offered people a chance to go on a trip to America and she would be nearly nine by that time. It was what she had wanted to do, designing clothes and thinking about how people would be wearing her creations but she was a little nervous to do it alone. She had thought that she could convince Kanae to go with her but she definitely wasn't interested in it.

"Well, you'd have interest in being a model, right?" Kyoko asked as she looked through the book again.

Kanae sighed, "When I'm older and a well-known actress then yes. Why don't you just go to the class by yourself and see if there's anyone there for you to talk to or you could come to the acting class with me."

Kyoko paused before sighing, "I think acting is fun but I'm not interested in it as a serious profession like you and Corn are," she nervously twisted her foot in the soil underneath her, "You really think that it will be okay for me to go to the class by myself?" she asked and Kanae sighed.

"Yes, it will be okay for you to go by yourself, Mo…" she said as she walked off.

"It'd be more fun if we did it together," Kyoko commented giving the idea just one more try. She was scared that she would be alone again and with her adoptive father's love for costumes, he'd get excited about it but he wasn't really the average person and she couldn't imagine her biological mother ever liking such a thing, Kyoko could only remember her wearing very professional clothing even on her day off.

Kanae rolled her eyes, "We can talk about it each week. Maybe you can help me figure out pieces to wear during my acting," she said and Kyoko grinned again.

"Okay, Kanae-chan," Kyoko said with a huge grin on her face, "I'll just have to use you as my muse. All the famous artists had their muse."

"Sounds creepy," Kanae smiled, "but sure, I thought that Corn was your muse."

"I can have two muses," Kyoko argued and Kanae rolled her eyes.

"You want to go to the playground?" she asked and Kyoko nodded eagerly. Kanae smiled. She didn't really enjoy getting dirty very much, she always had the idea that as a preteen celebrity, if she got a speck of dirt on any of her clothes that it would be reported by the media that she was a complete slob. There would say she was dirty and had no right to think of herself as either an actress or a celebrity but Kyoko loved the playground. Kyoko was really a big kid in her heart but she was really so sweet.

As long as she was happy, Kanae didn't mind getting a little bit dirty.

At least while they were still considered kids.

…..

…..

Kuu still felt pride because of Kuon's actions when he went to film that day. He was happy that Kuon still had belief in himself despite the people around him telling him that he couldn't do it. He wasn't going to brag about it though and he understood how people would think that he had gotten Kuon the part. He was still excited though and he wouldn't listen to the insults. He knew his son was going to prove them wrong.

"Hizuri-san," he heard one of the crew members say as he ate his lunch and he looked at them. "Hi, I'm Derek, I wanted to ask you for a favor. I know that you don't normally talk to most of the crew and -"

"I really have no problem talking to the crew," Kuu said. "I know that you all work hard and have passion in what you're doing. I hope that I don't give off the vibe that I am uncaring. So, how can I help you?" he asked as he set the food aside.

Sometimes people would ask him for advice on becoming an actor and landing auditions, other times people would ask him to speak to the director in their place. Although he often didn't agree to the other person's request, he wasn't the type of guy to turn others away. He'd even had questions about citizenship and work visas before _especially_ if the person in question was a Japanese citizen.

"My nephew was recently offered an audition," Derek said and Kuu stared at him. "We're not a very wealthy family so we can't provide the opportunities that your family can. I managed to get some of the names of the other children auditioning and we learned that your so-"

"My son's not pulling out of the audition," Kuu said.

"You haven't really heard the reasons that I think he should," Derek said and Kuu arrowed his eyes.

"My son is _not_ pulling out of the audition," Kuu repeated before standing up and going somewhere else to eat his lunch.

"Asshole," he heard Derek say under his breath but he didn't care. There was no way that he was telling Kuon to stop acting, he wasn't going to be one of those people who rejected him. How dare they think that!? Acting wasn't about who had more money it was about who had more talent. He just wanted Kuon to get the role based on his abilities. How dare anyone think otherwise!?

 **End of Chapter Five**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to reviewers of Chapter Four**

Brennakai, KrisXD, misherukuro, MissElyon


	37. P4 - Chapter 6: Starting Points

**AN:** Hope you enjoy 😊

 **Chapter Six – The Starting Point**

Kuon closed his eyes and kept his breath even and steady. He wanted to be calm when he auditioned and he was really hoping that nothing like what happened in Japan actually would happen this time. He knew that if there was somebody who wanted to hurt him, his dad would be there for him. Although Kuu sometimes was distracted, he was not a negligent father and he had been working hard on being a proper role model in his son's life and learning more about preteens so that they could communicate.

No, if there was any physical danger to him, Kuon was sure that his dad would do whatever he could to keep him safe.

The meditation right now was to calm himself down so that he could perform at his highest level. He wanted to prove everyone who had said that he didn't have the skills to be an actor wrong. He wanted them to admit that they weren't sure what they were talking about and to do that even breaths needed to be achieved and maintained.

"Are you nervous?" Kuu asked and Kuon lost his focus for a moment. "If you're nervous, it's okay, I get nervous too," he said and Kuon smiled to him.

"I think that meditating might make me feel a little more confident," he said and Kuu smiled.

"Okay, but if you need anything…are you hungry? There's still a little time so I could get you a snack or something," he said as he kept seeing people looking at him and gossiping that Kuon was going to get the role because he was a kid from a family that had already been well established in the celebrity and acting communities.

Kuon wanted to get this role based on his talent not on his relation to his dad.

"I'm good, I just…I am nervous. I don't want to be seen as an extension of you," he told Kuu who paused. "Dad, I really do love you," he said in a quiet voice so that none of the other kids could hear, "but…"

"I get it, you want to achieve things based on your own talent and I'm here for emotional support," he said with a thumbs up. "I promise that I'm not going to act as your coach or an overprotective father. I just know that they want you with a parent or guardian and I'm excited that you chose me."

"Dad," Kuon said slowly, "If it turns out that I…that I don't get the role, you aren't going to be disappointed in me, are you?" he asked nervously and Kuu stared at him for a moment before shaking his head.

"Of course not," he told him honestly, "As long as you go in there and do your best then I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you for trying, for not giving up. Most of all, I'm proud because I get to be your father."

"Thanks, Dad" Kuon said before seeing an assistant to the casting director come out of the room.

"Hizuri Kuon," she said sand Kuon tensed before rolling himself towards the assistant. Kuu sat back in the chair and waited, he shared a knowing look and a nod to his son. Even if Kuon wasn't chosen, Kuu would definitely be proud of him, but he hoped that he would be.

…..

…..

Kyoko looked at the picture of the blanket designs that were supposed to serve as inspiration to the shawl or blanket or even poncho that they would be designing and later making. Kyoko had decided to make a shawl that she could imagine Kanae in. She knew that Kanae would say that it was meant for an old woman and that it didn't match her glamorous style but Kyoko really did want to see people in things that she created.

She wanted to create costumes in the future, maybe for some retelling of a fairytale, Cinderella was her favorite and she could imagine what would happen if she could design the dress that Cinderella wore to the ball and danced in with the prince. She tried to think of Kyoko as she sketched the beautifully flowing shawl, she picked up some bright colors and started putting in some details before coloring it in a blue hue that had variations of dark and light color.

She was proud of the work that she had in front of her and she saw a boy of her age approach her. "That's really cool," he told her and Kyoko blinked before smiling. "It looks like one of those paintings by Van Gogh," he said and Kyoko looked at it before grinning, blushing a little.

"I don't think that it's that nice," she said and he shook his head.

"My mother's a famous artist and I think that it looks like some things that she's studied," he looked down and then showed Kyoko his own picture which was of a blanket. It was black but had different colors of dots and stars alternating throughout the pattern. It definitely wasn't at well designed as Kyoko's but it had its own flair of creativity.

"I like it," Kyoko smiled before jumping down from her seat and delivering a formal bow similar to what she would give when she was at the Fuwa ryokan, "My name is Mogami Kyoko, it's very nice to meet you," she said before standing up and smiling as he did the same.

"Chiba Seishi," he smiled. His bow wasn't as formal or perfect as Kyoko's but he was trying to match her as well as he could. "It's nice to meet you too, Kyoko-chan," he said tentatively and she nodded. He smiled as he got to work on his own picture. "How do you think of your ideas?" he asked interestedly as he looked at the bright colors that Kyoko had designed the shawl with.

"I think of the people I love, the people that I want to design for," Kyoko told him. She ran her finger underneath the design she had made. "This is one I thought of for my friend Kanae-chan. She's studying to be an actress and I thought that something like this would really suit her. I hope that I can make it just as well as I drew it."

Seishi watched her with a grin, "I think that's a really good idea. That way you can read the stories or scripts and get inspired by that. You know more about characters than you can ever really know about people," he said and Kyoko paused.

"You can learn about people if you become friends with them," she said and Seishi shook her head.

"Not really. I know what happens when people find out about your secrets and they think you're weird. I think that people want boys to do things like play baseball or tennis or other sports. You know, soccer, but I've never really liked those things."

Kyoko hummed, "Well, everyone likes different things and people can like a combination of things," she told him and Seishi hummed.

"People think I'm weird because I'm a boy and I like fashion," he said before he went back to his picture.

The instructor stood before the class and then went into how different techniques could be used to make the blankets or shawls or ponchos and how the different designs could be seen as a reflection on the person who drew the picture. They also talked about their next assignment, thinking about the person they would most like to design for and then they would draw a picture of that person.

Kyoko knew that she had just designed a piece for Kanae but she really had her mind set on making clothes that Kuon would be proud to wear. So much good in her life had come from her friendship with Corn, from the interactions both good and bad that she thought of. She drew a picture of him, trying to imagine what was going on with him at that moment. She hoped that he was having fun and she hoped that he was finding some way to act. She really wanted his dreams to come true as much as he wanted her dreams to be brought to reality.

Kyoko looked across at Seishi who had drawn another boy about his age. She hummed, tilting her head to the side before smiling. He wanted to design for his friend too. She took the blond coloring pencil and colored in his hair. Seishi looked at her picture.

"Who is he?" he asked and Kyoko smiled.

"That's Corn," she said, "or Kuon really, Corn's my special nickname for him from when I was young," she explained and Seishi looked at him.

"How old is he?" he asked and Kyoko blushed.

"Umm, he's twelve but we're really good friends," she said and Seishi looked at her.

"That's illegal" he told her as Kyoko's eyes widened. What? How was her friendship and crush on Kuon illegal? What did that even mean?

…..

…..

At the end of the day, Kuon looked across at his father as they sat at the ice cream shop. He had tried to enjoy the rest of the day but he was going over every single mistake that could have happened within the audition. He really hoped that he wasn't going to disappoint his father but he couldn't imagine himself getting offered the role.

"Kuon," Kuu said as he saw the distracted way in which Kuon was looking around. He sighed, "How are you feeling?" he asked and Kuon brought his attention back to his father.

"I'm doing okay, Dad…I don't want to have disappointed you so I want you to prepare for the worst," he requested and Kuu stared at him confused. He didn't really know what his son was talking about. In Kuu's eyes, Kuon was the best young actor in the world and there was no way that he would be deprived this chance to start his career.

In Japan, voice acting was such an art and he felt encouraged that Kuon was keeping an open mind on ways he could act and the different form that acting could take place in. Kuu really did hope that his son saw a shining future before him like Kuu did but he would have to keep encouraging that self-belief and build on his son's self-worth.

It was then that Kuon's cell phone rang and Kuon closed his eyes, taking a few quick breaths in before answering it.

"Hello, this is Kuon speaking," he said in a polite manner and heard the voice at the other end.

"Congratulations, Kuon," the woman said, "All of us loved your audition today and we'd love to offer you the role. Would you be able to come in tomorrow morning so that we can talk about the details of the role and the offer."

"yeah," Kuon nodded, "Yes, thank you. I'd love to accept and I can come in then, thank you," he laughed happily and saw Kuu's excitement as he threw a punch of victory up into the air. Kuon spent another five minutes on the phone before Kuu threw his arms around his little boy.

"I knew you could do it," he told him, "This is so exciting, congratulations. I'm so happy for you," he said energetically and Kuon paused, "Is something…wrong?"

"I said that I could come in tomorrow when they asked," Kuon hesitated, "but I just realized that you have that scene you have to shoot for your movie," he shifted uneasily, "Do you think that Mom?"

"I know your mother would love to take you," Kuu nodded. "We'll just have to talk to her before so that she doesn't get too excited. So are you happy?" he asked as he ruffled Kuon's hair.

"Yeah," Kuon nodded, "Yes, I'm very happy."

 **End of Chapter Six**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Five**

Erza Tsuruga, KrisXD, misherukuro

 **Response to Reviews**

Lol, I've found out that I have over 25 active fics so I'm keeping multiple documents so I can keep all of them updated regularly. I also have some I need to reactivate once I've given them more thought. There will be Kuon-Kyoko interaction in the future, I promise. Well Kuu just wants to motivate his son and be a good dad and Kuon wants to make his dad proud of him.


	38. P4 - Chapter 7 - Acting Roles

**AN:** Hope you enjoy this chapter 😊

 **Chapter Seven – Acting Roles**

This was going to be the first day of his actual work and though Kuon would just be meeting with the director of the Disney TV show, he was a little scared about his mother being there. Everyone knew how enthusiastic Julienna Hizuri could be and Kuon was a little fearful of being embarrassed by his mother but he loved her too much to tell her that. He would be signing some forms and getting a schedule and his mother would be told what was within child labor laws when it came to acting.

They had already gone over this before – not that it had been kept – with Kuu when Kuon had tried to follow in his footsteps as an on-camera actor but they hadn't kept to those terms and instead he had felt his dream get ripped out from under him. Hopefully this was going to be the start of a string of successful jobs for him because he had wanted to act for such a long time.

"Are you excited?" Julie asked as she walked beside the wheelchair, Kuon had requested that he move it himself instead of being pushed. Being wheeled around by his mother wasn't the coolest thing and he might have a reputation to protect pretty soon. He smiled as he looked at her and nodded. "Don't worry, you're going to do so amazing, I'm so excited for you," she grinned and Kuon paused.

"Mom, if I have to do retakes, you won't get upset, right?" he asked her and Julie looked at him a little taken aback.

"Of course not. I've been around directors long enough that I know that they ask for perfection. You have to sell yourself in both the modeling and the acting businesses and I know that even if you have to record your line one hundred times both your father and I are proud of you," Julie said before starting to tear up.

As rude as it might sound, Kuon was begging that she wouldn't start breaking down into sobs.

"Mom," Kuon finally said with a deep breath in and Julie immediately turned her attention to her son, "You'll let me do the talking, right? I mean these people want to talk to me but you can help me if I don't understand something and I'll let you look over the contract before you sign it."

"You don't want me to tell anyone how fabulous you are?" Julie blinked confused and Kuon laughed weakly.

"Maybe not on the first day. Maybe next month," he said and Julie laughed.

"Deal," she said before raising her chin showing how she felt high and mighty a little bit, "but once the show starts airing I get to brag about you, that's part of the deal," she told him and Kuon nodded.

"Sure," he said and Julie started to laugh to herself, "What is it now?" Kuon asked with a smile and Julie pushed back her long golden hair.

"I'm just so excited for you," she said honestly.

…

…..

Kuon looked at the documents that he had signed for the role, he felt proud of himself for getting this far with his acting and he wanted to share the news. Was it weird though that he wanted to tell Kyoko before he told Rick? Rick was his best friend and he was someone who Kuon always wanted to impress. However, Kyoko would be overjoyed by this and he wanted to help her be happy.

He sighed and went onto the computer, he would usually email Kyoko around this time of day anyway and she would probably want to hear that he had a new job. However, he didn't want to let her down. He didn't want for her to get excited about it and then be underwhelmed by his performance, he shifted a little in his chair.

Would she be happier to hear his voice in the show and then she could say that she liked it? Maybe he could pass it off as something that wasn't such a big deal. He paused and closed his eyes. Why was he dwelling on the possibilities of her reaction so much? Why was Kyoko's opinion so much more important than either of his parents' and even Rick's. With a deep breath, Kuon got onto the computer and started typing away.

 _Hi, Kyoko_

 _How are you? I read the email about your class and it sounds like a lot of fun. Promise to show me pictures of your designs and creations, I'm sure Kanae will love them. You always do things that people love because you're a very sweet girl. I wanted to share my own news with you, it might not be that exciting but I think it's because of you that it happened, because you wrote me that script. I…well, it's not that important so just let me know if you want to hear it._

 _-Kuon_

Kuon sighed, he would probably have to wait for a response to that email, he wanted her opinion but he was too nervous to tell her and he didn't know why. This role was precious to him. Even though other people might look down on it and say that it was only a voice role, he had got it himself and it was something that his dad didn't do. His father wasn't a voice actor and it was a small part of the acting world that Kuon could call his own. Hopefully in the future he would be an on-camera actor but for right now he needed something that he could own.

He was about to log out of his email when he saw that there was an email that had just come in.

 _Kuon,_

 _Thank you. I'll be sure to send you pictures. Your confidence in me lets me feel that I can do anything, thank you! I want to hear your news too. Even if it's small I want to hear it so let me know if that's okay._

 _Kyoko_

Kuon's face lit up with excitement as he saw the speed in which Kyoko had replied, taking a quick peek at the time and working out the difference he reached for the phone. He took calming breaths as he punched in the number for the president and fortunately received one of the house staff that he'd talked to more than a few times. It was just another pause before he heard her voice.

"Hello, this is Kyoko," she said as if uncertain about who was on the other side of the phoneline.

"Hey, it's Kuon. How are you?" Kuon smiled and heard Kyoko's giggling, he could just see her enthusiastic face lighting up at him calling her and he was very glad that he had done so. They didn't talk on the phone that often anymore but he really did find a delight in hearing her speak. She could even hurl insults at him – not that Kyoko ever would hurl insults at anybody – and he would still feel happiness in hearing her voice.

"Cooorn!" she said happily, "Oh my gosh. Hi, I just got your email and I wrote you an email and I'm so happy to speak to you on the phone. I've missed the sound of your voice, well I've been playing the recording that you made me so I _have_ __been listening to your voice and…"

"Thank you for that," Kuon laughed softly which allowed Kyoko time to take a breath.

"Oh no, no problem at all. I wanted to write something for you, for you to read and that recording you did was amazing. Okay, so…I'm sorry I'll be a bit calmer, what did you want to tell me, you told me that you had something to tell me," the eight year old replied and Kuon nodded before realizing she couldn't see him.

"Yes and I think it's good news," Kuon said with a grin.

"Okay. I'm excited for your news, you haaave to tell me," Kyoko laughed again and Kuon couldn't help but think that her laugh was very pretty. He paused and then tried to get rid of the idea. She was still in the single digit age group, he couldn't be thinking about how cute or pretty she sounded.

"I got an acting job. I'm doing a voice role," he said and heard Kyoko burst with excitement.

"Oh my gosh! That's so exciting! I'm so happy, I really want to see it, you'll send me the project when it comes out, right? I want to see it and that's so amazing! It's so amazing that you haven't given up, Corn," Kyoko said, "congratulations."

Kuon chuckled again, "I couldn't have done it without you," he told her and Kyoko paused.

"I didn't do anything," she replied and Kuon sighed.

"You, Kyoko Takarada, have done far more than you will ever know," he said happily before hearing Kyoko pause. He really would have to thank her for this. Maybe if he one day accepted an award then he would thank her. She had already given him so much.

…..

…..

"I'm not surprised that they said that you liking Hizuri would be illegal," Kanae commented as she and Kyoko walked to the ice cream shop the next day. Kyoko had almost been begging Kanae to try one of the new flavors and though Kanae loved ice cream, she was about as concerned as the kids in the beauty pageants about her weight. Still, having Kyoko as a friend was worth a few calories here and there.

"Well, he's not even a teenager," Kyoko said and then looked down, "And there's nothing wrong with liking somebody. I mean, it's not as if he's my boyfriend," she said as she looked down. She shifted nervously. There was no denying it, Corn would always be someone with so much importance to her. She had dreams about growing up and being his bride but she knew Kanae thought those were silly.

"He's four years older, that's about half our age _older_ ," Kanae stressed and Kyoko looked down.

"Well when I'm sixteen he'll be twenty and then it won't seem like a big age gap," Kyoko argued and Kanae rolled her eyes. "I mean, if I meet him when I'm a grownup like when I'm twenty, he'll be twenty four and people get together at that age all the time. I think that's when you go to university."

"Okay, so don't fall in love until you go to university," Kanae shrugged. "He would never take you seriously anyway," she said and Kyoko stared at her. She bowed her head, not knowing what to say. "I mean, do boys ever take anything seriously?"

"Kuon got a job, Kanae, he takes that seriously. He's really looking forward to it," Kyoko commented and Kanae rolled her eyes.

"So, he got a paper route, good for him, rich kids always take everything for granted. It's nice that he's earning some money and doing his part," Kanae said and Kyoko stopped. She frowned.

"Kuon's going to be the best actor one day," she argued, "Kuon got an acting job, he's the voice actor on…on…well I'm not sure what his new show is going to be about but he's going to be the best actor in the world."

Kanae rolled her eyes, "Show me how he's better than me," she challenged Kyoko and Kyoko looked down.

"I love you Kanae-chan," she said, "but Kuon is my favorite actor. He's the best actor ever, he's going to prove that to everyone."

"You're only saying that because you _think_ you're in love with him," Kanae countered back and Kyoko closed her eyes, her heart pounding in her chest.

"I am in love with him" she said before freezing and looked down. She felt a little stupid but it was true, she truly was in love with Corn despite just being eight years old.

 **End of Chapter Seven**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you for reviews of Chapter Six**

Ashenvale, Kris XD, ktoll9

 **Response to Reviews**

I think that this job is definitely going to help Kuon regain his confidence and Kyoko really wants to impress him as well. I'm glad you guys like this story so much 😊


	39. P4 - Chapter 8 - Medicated

**AN: Thank you for your patience, hope you enjoy**

 **Chapter Eight - Medicated**

Kuon was feeling proud of his accomplishment and he was starting to feel a lot of hope again with how he had been able to sign contracts, get a proper job, get treated as much like an adult as a twelve-year-old could. These were things that he wanted to share with his therapist and soon, hopefully, he would be able to stop seeing him. After all that he had been through, Julie and Kuu wanted to make sure that Kuon could get the emotional and mental health that he needed. He had already endured trauma at such a young age and Kuon had agreed knowing it would make them happier.

He didn't think he was crazy though. He knew that he had anger and sadness, but he wasn't psychotic and he didn't know why he needed to see a therapist. Then again, he wasn't sure why someone as cool as Rick needed to see a psychiatrist and a therapist. He wouldn't share that secret with anyone, he cared about his friend and he knew what popularity meant to him. It still didn't make sense.

"So," the therapist smiled as Kuon sat opposite him in the wheelchair. "What's going on? Anything new that you'd like to share before we get into your week?" he asked and Kuon grinned.

"I got a part in a new TV show but there's a non-disclosure agreement so I can't really say more about the exact role," he smiled and the therapist nodded, starting to take notes down on this. "It's really exciting and I'm happy."

"I want you to be sure that you're ready," the therapist told him, "how can you show that you're ready to take on this task."

"I…well, I signed all the forms and I'm going to practice a lot. I want to give this contract all the seriousness and maturity that my dad does with all of his contracts. I think that'd be the best place to start. I know it's a lot of work but I want to act," Kuon replied as he looked down, concentrating on the carpet in the office.

"Well, congratulations," the therapist nodded. "Are you still going to physical therapy appointments?" he asked and Kuon nodded.

"I want to, I want to do physical therapy and I want to walk again. I'm not that interested in voice acting as a profession but it's always good to build a career slowly, take small steps and I'm happy that I'm going to be able to perform," Kuon grinned.

"And they'll be paying you for this work, I assume," the therapist asked and Kuon moved nervously.

"It's not as much as the professional adult actors but…but they said they could pay me $35,000 for the season. I know it's not a lot but I'm still a kid, I haven't really started my role yet and I'll be in ten episodes to start off with so it's reasonable. I'm happy with it," he said and the therapist hummed.

"To most kids that would be a lot of money," he said and Kuon's back straightened.

"No, that is…that's a lot of money for me," Kuon said quickly he put a hand to his chest, "I might come form a wealthy family but my parents don't just go around giving me money. No, my dad's really been trying to take fewer jobs so that he can spend more physical time with me. He's really concerned about that."

"You mean that he's concerned about you," the therapist said and Kuon took a weak breath in before nodding.

"Yes, you could say that, you could say that he's concerned about me," he said and the therapist leaned in towards him.

"Kuon, you want to get better for your dad, right?" he asked and Kuon paused before nodding nervously. He wanted to get better for his own sake but he did feel that he owed his parents to make the effort. He had made so many mistakes in the past and he hadn't acted mature because of his own pain and ignorance. He had caused everyone trouble but he didn't mean to. He wanted them to be happy. He wanted his family to be proud of him.

"Yeah, but I think that I am getting better. Dad says that this new role gives me a sense of purpose and that trying to work at something and get better at it might help me a lot and…and he says the feeling of accomplishment makes you happier than most other things well…he says except for the love he feels for Mom and I." Kuon said before seeing the therapist stand up and walk over to a small cupboard.

"I shouldn't really be doing this but I wanted to give you a card," he told Kuon as the little boy stared at him uncomfortably before seeing the business card for a female psychiatrist, he paused and stared at it. He wasn't this messed up that he would have to see a psychiatrist, right? It didn't matter that it was a woman, it mattered that they were a licensed psychiatrist. The therapist also slipped an orange bottle of pills into Kuon's hand.

"I don't need these, Dad says that I shouldn't take medicines unless it's absolutely necessary. He cares about me but I know that Dad doesn't want me taking anything. He thinks that spending time with him will work better than drugs," Kuon said and the therapist sighed.

"Why don't you try them for a little while?" he asked and Kuon looked at him confused. "So, let's talk more about the money. What do you want to do with the money that you'll be earning."

"Buy a present for Kyoko," Kuon said slowly as he turned the pill bottle over in his hand, what on earth was this?

….

….

Kyoko nervously sat by the window with her arms around her knees. She didn't like the fact that she had to choose between her two friends. Kanae was an important person to her, she was a friend who had taught her a lot and stayed by her side but Kanae wasn't everything to her. Kuon had helped her so much and she wanted to see him succeed in his quest to be an actor. He had suffered so much and the fact that he had kept on fighting meant that he should be praised for his hard work.

Was it that wrong to want to see Kuon acting a bit more than wanting to see Kanae? Kanae was one of her two best friends but Kuon was the other and Kuon had saved her life, she had known him longer, and she had to admit that she had a love for him. She secretly wanted to become his lover, his bride.

"Hey, little girl," Lory smiled as he came over to her, he sat on the floor, dressed as an Egyptian pharaoh. Lory reached forward to his daughter, he placed a hand on her cheek softly and then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Can I lend an ear to help?"

"Sure," Kyoko nodded as she took deep breaths. "Kanae-chan is mad at me because I think that Kuon is a better actor."

"I can see why she would be upset," Lory sighed before looking at her, "Do you really think that?"

"I think they are both wonderful actors," Kyoko told her father, "but I want to see Kuon act more. I think that he deserves to have a wonderful future to balance out all of the pain that he's been through. Still, Kanae-chan's acting work is so beautiful and she takes so much pride in it. I'm not calling her a bad actor but Kuon is more exciting to me."

"I see," Lory said patiently. "You know, I do have my top rated actors but it's all a process. Acting is completely subjective and you have to keep an open mind on what actors can do. You might notice that someone who isn't doing very well in the past is suddenly one of the most entertaining horror actors. You have to keep an open mind on all people because actors can stun you if they work hard and push themselves."

"So, I can call Kanae-chan and Kuon both my favorite actors?" Kyoko asked and Lory nodded.

"Most definitely. I think both of them are going to be stars in their own ways. Plus, they'll be compared to other actors when they are both older. I've heard that Kuon is going to be voice acting a character in a new Disney show," he said and Kyoko's mouth dropped.

"Disney!? Kuon never mentioned Disney," she said before jumping up and grinning. "I want to see his work. I want to see what he can do, I know that Kuon can do so many amazing things," she said and Lory chuckled.

"Maybe we should plan a trip to the US pretty soon, maybe Kanae-chan would like to go too," he suggested and Kyoko's face broke out in a huge grin that took over her entire expression. This was exciting. She would be able to spend time with Kanae when Kuon was busy, she really hoped that it could happen. Maybe Kanae would even want to see how acting was different in America.

…..

…..

Kuu returned home from his acting job and looked around, unfortunately it was pretty late at night and so he wouldn't be able to spend more time with his family but he was happy that he had been able to take Kuon to the therapy appointment. He was a little worried that the therapist thought that Kuon should double his sessions, but he would have to discuss whether this was something that Kuon wanted or needed. If it was then he would pay the cost for it, as long as Kuon was moving forward instead of hiding, Kuu would do anything for his twelve-year-old son.

Kuu went to the kitchen to try to get something to drink and then he saw it, a small bag stuffed in the cooking utensils drawer. Maybe he shouldn't look at it, maybe Julie had taken a pregnancy test and they were going to have another child. Still, Kuu could still fall to curiosity and he took the bag out.

He was surprised to find that there was an orange pill bottle inside the bag. Maybe Julie changed her birth control, he should put it away in their cupboard though. He looked at the pill before seeing that it was Lithium and Kuon's name was prominent on it. He froze. Kuon had Lithium pills.

Kuu held it in his hand, forming a fist with the other one. He had been there when Kuon had his therapy appointment and Kuon was just twelve, he wasn't responsible enough to make his own decisions and he wasn't well-informed on what these drugs could do. Kuu didn't want his son to go anywhere near these drugs. He was a happy and strong kid and if he was suffering from depression then talking to Kuon would be so much better than just overloading him with drugs.

"Dad, I don't want to take them," he heard a voice from the doorway and Kuu looked over to see Kuon there with his wheelchair.

"I don't want you to take them either," he said honestly before walking over to Kuon and knelt in front of him. "Are you okay?" he asked as he smoothed down his son's hair. Kuon gave a shaky nod and Kuu wrapped his arms around his son. "If you're not, let me know and we'll work through it together. I love you, my little boy."

 **End of Chapter Eight**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Seven**

Ashenvale, Erza Tsuruga, H-Nala, Kotoko-98, KrisXD, ktoll9, librosmysticos, paulagato

 **Response to Reviews**

Well, maybe Kuon can get his soul back 😉 Kuon is trying to think some things through, at this age he doesn't want to be with a girl whose too young but he doesn't see Kyoko as an age, he just sees her. They both have a lot of things that they each need to work on.


	40. P4 - Chapter 9 - Musically Driven

**AN:** Thank you so much with your patience on the updates of this fic. I hope that you like this chapter as it's mainly around hobbies and shared interests which will come into future chapters as well.

 **Chapter Nine – Musically Driven**

Kyoko took a deep breath in as she stood outside the building where the acting lessons were conducted. She hadn't meant to think that Kanae was inferior to Kuon and she had definitely not wanted her friend to feel that she didn't believe in her dreams. Both Kanae and Kuon were very important people to her and hopefully the ice cream treat she had sitting in the dry ice bag would help her explain her case to Kanae. However, there was still a wait before Kanae finished with her classes.

"I support your dream too, I really want to see you succeed and maybe work together with Kuon," she practiced saying as she paced the hallways. She had spoken with her father and told him that she wanted to spend some time with him when they went to America and maybe she could spend some time with just Kuon as well, she barely got to see her friend and she wanted their time together to be as special as possible.

Still, Kyoko knew that she would never feel comfortable getting onto the plane without Kanae's understanding and friendship. Since she had been bullied and left alone in Kyoto, friends were something of great importance to her and she never wanted one of her own friends to feel that they weren't worth very much to her when it was the opposite, her friends meant so much more to her than anything else.

As Kyoko paced outside the building, her ears picked up a melody that was being played. She looked at the clock on the side of the building and then went over to where she heard the music. She could spend some time trying to find the source of the sound whilst she waited.

Kyoko wandered over to where there were music rooms and paused as she waited again. The song sounded like how the fairies would when they flew through the air, it was a magical sound that wasn't like a drum or a piano or a guitar. Kyoko stopped still as she found the source of the music and then hid so that the girl who was playing the instrument wouldn't see her.

It was a flute, an amazing instrument that before Kyoko had always overlooked.

Kyoko smiled as she watched the flutist in wonder, this was such a beautiful melody. She grinned before seeing the girl stop and as the instructor came into the room, Kyoko headed back to the acting classrooms. She was still grinning with that music caressing her heart. She wondered if she would be able to make music that sounded like that.

Kyoko's eyes soon caught hold of her friend and she rushed over, holding the ice cream in front of her, "I'm sorry," she apologized, "Kanae-chan, I am so so sorry," she said again and Kanae paused before tilting her head to the side. "I want to see your dreams too," she said with a wide smile over her face.

"Yeah," Kanae smiled as she tilted her head to the side, "I'm sorry too. I should never have doubted you, I think I was just a little jealous. I thought that we were friends."

"We are friends," Kyoko said quickly, "but I'm friends with Kuon as well and I wouldn't even be here with you and living my good life were it not for Kuon. I owe a lot to the Hizuris and…and I really like Kuon, there's a lot that I can talk to him about just like there's a lot that we can share together too, Kanae-chan," Kyoko attempted to explain.

Kanae sighed, "I guess I can forgive you then." Kanae took the ice cream from Kyoko and smiled. Kyoko really knew the best treats to make her feel special, Kanae just hoped that eating these treats wouldn't make her gain too much weight. "You want to walk home together?"

"Yeah," Kyoko nodded excitedly, "Yes. I'd love to walk home together, thank you," she grinned and Kanae raised an eyebrow.

"What's put you in such a good mood. I doubt it's just that we made up because you were grinning like an idiot before we even started to talk so what's on your mind?" Kyoko blinked back and Kanae sighed as she watched her. Something was going around and around in little Kyoko's mind and Kanae was just hoping that it didn't have anything to do with her crush.

"I want to learn to play the flute," Kyoko said and Kanae paused.

"Why?" she asked and Kyoko looked down with that smile still on her face.

"It's such a beautiful instrument and I want to play the beautiful music I feel in my heart when I go about my life, like the music that I hear when I'm with you, Kanae-chan," she grinned and Kanae shrugged with a weak smile, "What's the matter?"

"Why would you want to learn an expensive hobby if it won't take you anywhere," she asked and Kyoko shook her head.

"It's not so that I can get a job or work but I want to be able to create something beautiful, that's why I love fashion because there's so many beautiful colors. Playing the flute would be like turning all that beauty into sound," she said and Kanae shrugged. Kyoko closed her eyes, feeling confidence in what she wanted to learn, "I'll ask Dad about it tonight."

….

….

Kuon looked up from his homework to find that there was a good smell in the air, how long had he been concentrating on his advanced-track algebra work. He looked up as he finally managed to put the papers away and concentrate on his script. Had he been too focused? He wheeled himself to the kitchen and grinned as he saw his dad chopping up an onion whilst also looking over his lines.

"You look so happy doing that," he commented and Kuu grinned.

"I am happy," he turned to Kuon with a smile, "I would have asked you if you wanted to help but you looked quite serious. Any problems with the homework, you know I really wasn't considered an idiot when was in school just…distracted," he grinned.

"Dad, are you…is it okay that you're here?" Kuon asked nervously and Kuu stared at him.

"I think a man should be allowed in his own house, don't you?" he asked and Kuon shifted again. He felt nervous that his father was taking so much time off to be with him. They had both seen that he was allowing Julie to take as many jobs as he wanted to but after everything that Kuon had been through, Kuu had tried his best to work on his priorities.

"Dad, you want to be an actor, that's really important to you, right?" he asked and Kuu sighed.

"Kuon, if I never acted again but I had you and your mother in my life, I'd be happy. If I was offered my dream role but one of the two of you wasn't here then I wouldn't be happy. By reducing the number of jobs I have, I'm still able to concentrate on work and spend more time focusing on the rest of my life," he told him and Kuon paused.

"You don't have to do all of this," he said nervously and Kuu walked over to him.

"I wouldn't be doing all of this if I had a problem with it, trust me, I've got my priorities sorted," he smiled and Kuon paused. He looked away awkwardly. There was something that he had wanted to ask of his father but he didn't want to inconvenience him any more than he already had. He was pretty sure that people were starting to talk about him being spoiled by Kuu taking the time to watch him mature.

"Dad…" Kuon said slowly and Kuu hummed, "There's something that I wanted to ask you about" he said and Kuu nodded as he washed up the knife very carefully. "The piano. I want to learn how to play the piano as well as you do."

"I'm certainly not the be-" Kuu argued but Kuon shook his head.

"When you played that role, Katsuki I think in the Moon…."

"Tsukigo no Mori," Kuu corrected him and Kuon nodded.

"Yeah, that one, you played the piano and you were amazing. Do you think that I would be able to do that one day, play as well as you do?" Kuon asked and Kuu grinned at him. It made his heart beat proudly as a parent whenever Kuon expressed wanting to be more like him. He smiled proudly and nodded.

"I'm sure that you could," he said, "If you want to then I can find you somewhere to take lessons."

"Yeah," Kuon nodded, "I'd like that. I'd really like to be more like my hero," he said as Kuu's jaw dropped, his face lighting up at how much he truly adored his son.

…..

…..

Kyoko didn't think her adoptive father would be someone who would turn down creative expression but Kanae-chan didn't seem to think that the idea of playing a musical instrument was a very good one. Kanae had told her that musicians were paid very little unless they were attractive guys who led women on and Kyoko didn't want to be someone like that. She still loved fashion but the way that the flute had sounded to her had put her emotions in the music for everyone to hear. She wanted to create something like that.

But was having that skill stupid, Kanae hadn't said it was marketable unless you wanted to be a music teacher and Kyoko didn't have that as one of her dreams in life. Maybe her father would give her better insight. As he arrived home and opened his arms to hug her, Kyoko flew into his arms and he scooped her up. Even though Lory Takarada wasn't related to her by blood, the chance that he had taken in adopting her had done both of them so much good.

"You seem excited today?" Lory grinned as he kissed the top of Kyoko's head, "I take it that you and Miss Kotonami made up."

"Yes, so now I can support both of them," Kyoko grinned before jumping onto the floor. "I wanted to ask you something and it's okay if you say no…I um…"

"I already have made arrangements for the two of us to go to California," Lory smiled, "I'm as excited to see our friends as you are. I think Shuuhei and Julie are going to be preparing for this. They've been wanting you to visit for a while and…"

"I'd like to take music lessons," Kyoko said and Lory paused before grinning.

"That's a great idea," he said with a thumbs up, "I whole heartedly approve. If you play the piano, I'll have to make sure you know the theme songs to all these good romance shows so that you can cheer me up if I feel down," he joked and Kyoko shifted. "Let me guess, the harp? Violin?"

"I'd like to learn to play the flute," Kyoko said nervously and Lory looked at her with a grin.

"I think that suits you and I have faith in your determination and perseverance. I think you'd be an amazing musician, I have pride in calling myself your father," Lory said as he stuck his chin in the air and Kyoko paused nervously.

"You're still my father, right?" she asked and Lory knelt in front of her.

"Kyoko, I promise that I am your father and I will always consider you my daughter. Ever since the day that I adopted you, I have been your father and I would want nobody to take that honor from me," he told her and Kyoko hugged him again. Lory wrapped her up in his arms. Even if they weren't biologically related in the slightest, this was still his little girl, his daughter, his Kyoko.

 **End of Chapter Nine**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you reviewers of Chapter Eight**

A Musing Brunette, GeraniumGaranin15, KrisXD, Ktoll9, librosmysticos, Manga Ren, misherukuro, paulagato, zeynel,

 **Response to Reviews**

Kuon's doctor was trying to push the drugs on him to get some of his money, I should have tried to make that clearer, sorry for any misinterpretations. Kuon is actually doing better and isn't really facing depression right now but he still wants to make his parents believe in him and has some self-doubts about his ability. And yes, Kyoko and Kuon will be meeting soon but they'll be doing something else together (kind of) in the next chapter 😉

I also think that drugs are a personal choice. I have been on my medication for borderline personality disorder since I was seventeen (which my psych still considered young). I think they help me with balancing the chemistry in my brain and I definitely can tell when I haven't taken it just by how I feel even if I thought I had when I went to bed. Kuu really just wants what is best for his family despite how he's also a workaholic Japanese man like his father. Also, I promise, more Julie soon and she's going to be telling Kuu that she wants time with their son as well.


	41. P4 - Chapter 10 - Through Arrivals

**AN:** Thank you guys so much for being patient with me for the update of this chapter. I hope you enjoy it 😊 Lots of good chapters ahead as Kyoko and Kuon will be together physically in the next few chapters

 **Chapter Ten – Through Arrivals**

Kuon nervously finished his piece on the piano. He had been studying for only two weeks and his dad had already had time to teach him a couple of songs and they had moved quickly onto level two piano basics. Kuon was still a little shaky in how he was playing. His dad was such an expert at playing the piano and he didn't want to disappoint him but Kuu was beaming with pride as he stood there gazing at his son.

"That was amazing," he said proudly before gently putting a hand on his son's head and ruffling his hair. "That's definitely going to help you with your acting even if you just continue doing voice roles."

"Is there something wrong with doi-" Kuon started but Kuu quickly cut him off.

"Not at all. I don't know how well I would perform at voice acting. There's a certain level of difficulty there that only someone knowledgeable about the acting style would be aware of. I love seeing your work. You definitely are able to put forward a lot of character in your voice and they expanded your role didn't they?" he asked and Kuon nodded.

"Do you think that I'm playing the piano okay?" he asked and Kuu nodded.

"You're just learning and thinking about the fact that you've only been learning it for a couple of weeks. Well, I'm impressed by your work ethic. You already have your homework which I've seen your excelling at, your work as a voice actor, and now you're playing the piano. You must have all of your mother's best genes," he commented and Kuon smiled.

"I think it's a combination of both you and mom. You have some great genes too," he said and Kuu looked surprised but then very happy. Despite the fact that Kuu had been raised to have a spectacular work ethic and Japanese directors knew about this, Boss knew about this, he felt that he had made the right choice to cut down on his work. Acting was fun and he loved his job and exploring new roles but if he hadn't have slowed down and if he hadn't have taken the classes he did on child psychology, he might have neglected his son. Juliella and Kuon were more important than his career, he was glad he realized that in time.

"Are you looking forward to Kyoko's visit?" he asked and Kuon smiled before nodding.

"I hope I don't let her down this time. I know that I've hurt her before but I really don't want to make her upset or anything," Kuon told his father. He felt glad that Boss was coming with her so that they could stay in a hotel. He felt that he wasn't the best person to protect her in this country but he did want to see her. Hopefully he had matured since the last time that they had spent time together.

"Kyoko is resilient," Kuu commented and Kuon looked at him.

"Just because she's strong doesn't mean that it's okay if she gets hurt. Quite the opposite. I really hope that I can make her happy," he grinned and Kuu smiled. It was true. His son really had matured and he hoped that this new acting job was the cause of it. Just seeing his son turn towards his future made Kuu both happy and proud of what he felt his son deserved.

…..

…..

"How do you feel that that went?" the music instructor asked as she looked at Kyoko who was holding the flute. Kyoko grinned as she held the instrument close to her. It was such a gorgeous item and she wanted to take care of it. It was now one of her prized possessions. She had been so thrilled when her father had told her that he was arranging music lessons for her and with every moment she wasn't occupied with art, fashion design, or school work, she was practicing with her flute.

"I really enjoyed it but I want to hold the notes for a little longer," she grinned and the instructor nodded.

"I thought you played very well but I am happy that you understand the areas in which you need improvement. I also think that as you practice, your hold on the instrument will approve as will your being able to reach certain notes. You're a beginner so make sure that you continue your practice," the instructor commented before writing some things down for Kyoko.

"Thank you, ma'am" Kyoko smiled in a way that could brighten anyone's day.

The instructor handed Kyoko the note which had some suggestions on ways that she could practice to improve her weak spots. Sometimes the students would get disheartened with the criticism and she was nervous that they would give up playing – despite that not being in the so-called Japanese work ethic – but Kyoko seemed different. Kyoko genuinely seemed to want to know her mistakes so that she could work on them. It was as if the girl was more uncomfortable with compliments than criticism.

"So, for our next class, I'd like it if you could pick one of these five brief pieces and work on it. If you can't complete it then there won't be any disappointment as long as you play to the best of your abilities," she said and Kyoko nodded with a smile which made the instructor love her even more.

"Do you think that I'm improving?" Kyoko asked, "I really want to play something for my father. I think that he really likes music and he told me there was a flautist in one of his romance games," she said eagerly and the instructor's eyebrow rose.

"Is that so? Is this a romance video or a romance game?" she asked concerned. It wasn't her position to talk about Lory Takarada's life but she didn't want for any child to be involved with pornography. She truly hoped that it was something much tamer than that.

"It's stories," Kyoko smiled, "He plays matchmaking games. He likes making the characters fall in love," she grinned and the instructor smiled.

"The kind of game that high school girls play?" the instructor tried to confirm and Kyoko nodded.

"But father says that there isn't any maximum age requirements for video games and that it's just a guideline," Kyoko smiled and the instructor nodded before hearing that the man of the house had just arrived home.

"Why don't you go greet your father and I'll tell him about the progress that you've been making. It's my understanding that we only have one more session together before you go to America on your vacation. Are you going to practice your flute there?"

"Yes because I want to play for Kuon," Kyoko grinned excitedly. "He's my best American friend. I really want to show him that I'm doing well at it and I bet he'll encourage me. Sometimes Kuon can be a little short sighted but he's really friendly and supportive. I really want to see him smile," she said and the instructor nodded.

"I think he'll like watching you play," she told her before Kyoko rushed out of the room but not before bowing and thanking the instructor. As she ran to the front door, Lory opened his arms wide and scooped her up in them, kissing her cheek.

"How did your lesson go today?" he asked her with a kiss on her forehead and Kyoko let her head rest on Lory's shoulder.

"It went well. I think that I'm improving but I want to get even better. Do you think that Kuon will be happy to hear me play? He's always so excited when I show him something new," Kyoko laughed and Lory nodded, holding her close.

"I think that he'll be very impressed. I've heard that he's been learning how to play the piano but he's still quite fresh at it. It would be fun to hear him play too, right?"

"Yes. I'll look forward to that," Kyoko smiled as she closed her eyes and held her flute to her. Kuon still was extremely important to her despite being so far away. She wanted to practice and get even more skilled. It would crush her if he told her that she wasn't good at it or that her playing was hurting his ears. He wouldn't say something like that, would he?

…

…

A week later Kyoko was holding Lory's hand as they went through the airport security. She was glad that she was with her father this time, it made everything seem so much less scary and she wouldn't be left alone like the previous time. She would have someone who was on her side. Still, seeing her friend was more important to her.

As they got to the arrivals gate and Kyoko noticed Kuon and his family, she ran over and jumped up, throwing her arms around Kuon and he managed to catch her. The adults smiled at their interaction and Kyoko pulled back, grinning at the golden-haired preteen.

"Kuon!" she giggled, "Corn, it's so good to see you," she said loudly and Kuon grinned at her, hugging her close again.

"I'm glad to see you again as well," Kuon said as he gently placed a hand and she held it there whilst blushing. He had very smooth, soft, and warm skin. It was very special to her that he had placed his hand there. She pulled back and grabbed her case carrying her flute. "What's that?" Kuon asked as he tilted his head to the side. "Is that your flute?" he asked and Kyoko nodded eagerly. "Will you play for me at my home?" he asked.

"I'd love to," Kyoko smiled widely, "but we have to make a deal. I'll play my flute for you but I want to hear you play the piano…if that's okay, of course."

"Of course it's okay, I _want_ to play for you," Kuon emphasized before pausing and looking down, "Well, I would like to play for you but I have to admit that I'm not very good at it. I've just started so what I play for you isn't really that good. Dad says I've been doing well but I'm very new at is," Kuon told her. He didn't want to let her get her hopes up. There was no chance that he'd be delivering something of the level of Mozart or Beethoven. He could barely play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star without looking at the music book.

Kyoko blinked, "Of course you won't let me down. I'm just happy to see you face to face, to be able to hug you," she smiled and Kuon nodded.

"I also asked my director if you could come and watch me act but you don't have to. You and Boss have to sign some NDAs and he has to come with you but because it's my first request and other people have done so, my director said that you could come and watch….if you want to," he said and Kyoko nodded eagerly.

"That's awesome!" she said and then looked at her father, "We can go, right? We can watch Kuon act, right?"

"It would be my honor to watch a young star at work," Lory nodded and Kuon looked down a little embarrassed before deciding to have confidence in himself. He looked up and then looked at Lory before turning his gaze to Kyoko.

"Thank you," he told them before Kyoko hugged him again.

 **End of Part 4 Chapter 10**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of 4.9**

Kris XD, ktoll9, paulagato, RedtheWolf2

 **Response to Reviews**

I definitely believe that there is a connection between the two of them and that's why (I don't know if it's just me) I get annoyed by Kuon thinking that there is a link between Sho and Kyoko. Yes, the two work in different worlds of the entertainment industry but them meeting each other isn't a miracle. They were both there. They both went in to be performers (Kyoko's still in talent department if I'm remembering correctly) and so they met numerous times.

Now, what really is a connection is an American boy being on a trip with his father meeting a girl in one part of Japan and them not meeting again until many years later in a completely different part of Japan in the same agency despite her not showing any interest in performing. Now I think that _that_ is some special bond.

I really hope you guys enjoy the next chapters and Kuon is definitely more mature than the last time that Kyoko visited him.


	42. P4 - Chapter 11 - The Life of An 11YrOld

**AN: Thank you so much everyone for your patience in the update of this fic. I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I'd updated it** **I hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter Eleven – The Life of an Eleven-Year-Old**

Kuon grinned as Kuu drove him and Kyoko to the studio where Kuon had arranged for Kyoko to have a little tour of where he worked. Kuon had been a little apprehensive about Kyoko's reactions, sure it was a Disney movie but he was only a voice. She hadn't seemed to think any lower of him because of it though and that made him happy. He wanted to make up for his past childishness and Kyoko loved Disney. They had even been told that she could visit the art studio as long as she behaved. Kuon had no trouble believing she would.

"Do you like being an actor, Kuon-kun?" she asked and he nodded. She smiled with a soft laugh, "I'm glad that you do. You're very talented and you've overcome so much," she said and he looked at her with a nod. He didn't want to say how he felt that she had overcome more. Before Boss had taken her in, she was with a mother who didn't really care about her and had lived until she was six taking care of herself and being cared for by people who weren't related to her.

Even though his dad had, at one point, turned his attention elsewhere, Kuon was starting to realize that if he had ever come to either of his parents for help that they would understand his struggle. He had just wanted to not cause any trouble for them or put their dreams in jeopardy.

Kyoko grinned as they arrived at the lot and Kuu pulled out the wheelchair for his son. Kyoko grabbed hold of the arm rest and grinned as Kuon was helped to the chair. "You know, you're amazing, right, Corn?" she asked with a grin across her face and Kuon blinked before smiling weakly. She was always over-complimenting him.

"I want to become a film actor," Kuon told her as he started to wheel himself into the studio, telling his father that he didn't need to be accompanied but he'd call him if anything happened. After making sure it was okay with Kyoko, Kuu told them that he would say hello to some old friends. Kyoko watched him go.

"I think he really wants what's best for you," she said and Kuon nodded as he looked in that direction.

"He's a great dad, he's been working really hard on helping me through my depression and anxiety," Kuon said as he thought about how much time his father had put into child raising. "I won't be acting today but Boss is going to come tomorrow and then you can both watch me, if you want to…" he said nervously and Kyoko grinned.

"Of course I want to! I want to see your dream flourish!" she told him before they arrived at the main door. Kuon was let through and the woman smiled kindly at Kyoko.

"I was told that Kuon had a guest today," she said and Kyoko blushed. She looked around interested in the studio where the voices were recorded. It seemed impressive to her. There were cartoon pictures on the wall that were signed by various people and there were also pamphlets about future roles, a nice beverage and snack table, and different rooms with stars on them. Kyoko grinned as she saw a card with Kuon's name on it.

"You have your own dressing room?" she asked and Kuon shook his head. He pointed to another name on the other side. "Oh, but I mean, even if you share, it's really cool," she said and Kuon looked to her. How come she always managed to restore his energy even if he wasn't feeling at his best.

"Thank you," he said before bringing her to the sound stage, "We have to be quiet," he told her before opening the door and Kyoko nodded. Kuon waved to the director and producer as he and Kyoko watched the adult actor who was one of the main actors deliver his lines. Kuon watched in interest as the senior actor worked. He was hoping to get some notes on performing so that he could enrich his own performances.

However, the way that he looked at the man was nothing compared to Kyoko's excited grin and her eyes that sparkled as she saw the performance. This was the type of performing that Corn did? It was amazing! She grabbed to the arm of the wheelchair again and they shared a happy grin. Kuon was amazing!

…..

…..

As Kuu unlocked the door, the three of them walked in to see Lory and Julie sitting together in the living room. Kyoko ran to her dad's arms and Lory scooped her up, holding her close to him. "Did you have fun?" Lory asked and Kyoko nodded.

"Kuon's amazing," she declared again as Kuon's widened at that statement. "The people that we saw perform were so talented and I can't wait to see Kuon perform tomorrow," she looked back at Kuon. "Corn, you'll still show us your magic won't you?" she asked and Kuon nodded. How was she so adorable? It was because she was only a little kid. That had to be it. Little kids were always more adorable than older kids or preteens.

"I'm not that amazing," he said and then looked at one of the bags that had been brought with them. "I'd love to hear you play your flute in person," he said and Kyoko went over to the case. She picked it up and watched him. She was a little nervous that he might say she wasn't good enough. No. The Corn that she knew wouldn't make judgements like that if someone were trying their hardest.

She turned to him before raising an eyebrow, "Are you going to play the piano for me?" she asked and he laughed before shrugging.

"Sure, we could always play a song together," he smiled and Kyoko looked at him excitedly. She was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, her eyes wide and her mouth a huge grin. Julie smiled to them.

"May I listen?" she asked and they turned to look at each other.

"Can we play together first and then we can perform for all of you?" Kyoko asked and Lory nodded his approval.

"It sounds like a plan," he told them before gesturing for Kuu to sit down. "Why don't you sit, Shuuhei, there's a lot that we need to talk about," he told him and Kuu nodded as he put his shoes on the rack, putting Kyoko's there as well.

"Yes, I can do that," Kuu said as he rubbed the back of his neck, he looked down at his son. "Do you need any help with your shoes, Kuon?" he asked and Kuon shook his head. Because it was easier for him, most of his shoes had Velcro on them. He sometimes had difficulty with the healing paralysis but he was still independent and Kuu knew this. It didn't stop him from wanting to help his son but he wasn't going to force him to be dependent upon him.

"Let's go and play," Kyoko said before looking around, "Where's the piano?" she asked and Kuon gestured with his head that she should follow. She nodded as she followed him. She wanted to ask him about his wheelchair and how it felt but she didn't want to make him feel bad. About a year ago, he had almost given up life and now his life seemed more fulfilling, she was scared of shattering that for him.

"What do you want to play?" Kuon asked her and Kyoko looked around.

"Your choice," she grinned and Kuon looked to her before tilting his head to the side as he thought. He smiled to her as an idea came to mind.

"How about we combine some of our favorite songs to play and make our own piece," he told her and Kyoko smiled before nodding her head quickly. That sounded like a lot of fun and she was really happy that Kuon had suggested that. She wanted to play with him and then they'd have a special song that nobody else had, some treasured memory just between the two of them.

…

…

"That sounded really good!" Kyoko said after they had finished their first half hour of playing. Although it was hard work to put together a song and also to practice with Kuon, she really loved it. She wanted to see her friend smile and she felt when they were playing music together, they both became really happy, it was as if her heart was flying and she was giddy.

"I think so too," Kuon replied, "And it's because you play so well, Kyoko-chan," he told her and Kyoko smiled happily having heard that. "You must be taking your music lessons very seriously. I'm glad that you've found something that you enjoy," he said and Kyoko shook her head.

"No, it's your piano playing which is really good," she argued and Kuon rolled his eyes.

"My piano playing is nothing compared to how well you play the flute and the flute is a harder instrument to play," he told her although both instruments had their challenges. Yes, with a flute you had to have hand work and a good amount of oxygen but the piano was bigger than the flute so you had to stretch your arms out and move quicker. Kyoko was about to argue when there was a voice from the doorway.

"I thought they were both good," the preteen said as he walked into the room and Kuon paused nervously. He hadn't expected Rick to be here. He didn't want to show Rick that he had feelings for Kyoko who was so much younger than him. No, the feelings were looking at her as if she were a sister. She was seven, she was too young for him. He was being one of those perverts.

"Hi," Kyoko said before dropping into a bow, she looked at him and smiled happily. "I'm Mogami Kyoko. Are you Kuon's friend?" she asked and Rick nodded.

"I'm surprised that Kuon hasn't told you more about me," he said before walking over to her. "I can see what Kuon is saying about you. You are darn adorable," he said as he winked at Kuon who looked down and bit his top lip. He didn't want to tell Kyoko that. There were so many obstacles that they would have to overcome and it wasn't worth it at their age, maybe if he was twenty and she was sixteen they could work against those obstacles and be a happy couple – well not in America, he'd have to be twenty-two before he felt comfortable in this country.

"Kuon says that about me?" Kyoko blushed and Rick grinned.

"I can see why he likes you so much," he said and Kuon shook his head.

"Don't listen to him, Kyoko. Rick doesn't know anything. I don't like you…" he said before seeing the tears in her eyes. "I mean, I don't like you like that. I love you like a friend, as a friend, as family," Kuon said quickly and Rick winked at him.

"You sound like you're trying to argue against it too much," he told him and Kuon didn't know how to respond. Rick looked at Kyoko again. "You should forgive my friend here, he doesn't know how to treat beautiful girls like yourself."

"Oh, umm, thank you?" Kyoko squeaked and Kuon sighed, trying to hold back a growl.

"You shouldn't thank him for being perverted, Kyoko," he said and Kyoko turned back to Kuon confused. Rick was being perverted? Wasn't being perverted much worse?

 **End of Chapter Eleven**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Ten**

Brennakai, H-Nala, Kaname671, KrisXD, ktoll9

 **Author Response:**

Thank you so much for all of the support and I'm glad people agree with me about the Kuon-Kyoko connection. I'm actually kind of excited/nervous about the next chapter, there is sure to be some misunderstandings but I hope things go well in the end. Did you guys see the wedding picture, so cute? Anyway back to the fic, I hope that you guys liked the teasing at the end 😉 and yes, further on there will be some parental teasing as well.


	43. P4 - Chapter 12 - Small Scenes

**AN: I've been attempting to update every 10** **th** **day of the month but got excited and updated early, hope you enjoy**

 **Chapter Twelve – Small Scenes**

Kuon really wasn't sure why he felt a little threatened by the interaction between Rick and Kyoko. He was being selfish again. Kyoko and Rick could be friends, there was no reason to stop them being friends but he was hesitant about the way that Rick could hurt her. Rick had his own problems and being with him made Kuon feel a little easier about his own problems but Kyoko was unaware of that. Maybe it was because he didn't want to get any mud on his own name in front of her. Yes, that was most likely it.

Or maybe he was trying to deny some feelings that he shouldn't be having. He was sick to be attracted to Kyoko, she was so much younger than he was and their age difference made him a huge creep. He had to tell himself that just because this girl liked him, he had to see her as a little sister.

A big brother was a supportive influence to a young girl and if she fell in love with someone else that would be easier for him. He would be able to look at other girls and maybe get himself a steady girlfriend. That would be nice.

Kyoko turned to Kuon as the words came into her mind, "I'm sorry," she laughed lightly. She tilted her head to the side. Why was Kuon saying his friend was being a pervert? He hadn't touched her and he had just told her that she was beautiful, wasn't that a compliment? Americans were always more open with their compliments than Japanese people.

"Ignore him," Kuon said as Rick frowned, "Rick is a really good friend to me," he said and Rick sighed. He put two fingers to his forehead and shook his head with a deep sigh.

"Dude, you're never going to make it with a woman if you're not honest with yourself," he said before looking at Kyoko with a grin. "You like Kuon, don't you?"

"Kuon is one of my best friends," Kyoko said happily, "I have him to thank for my good life. If I hadn't met Kuon then my life wouldn't be at the place that it is right now. I'm always going to be grateful to him," she smiled and Rick nudged Kuon with his elbow.

"Don't wait too long or she'll be snatched up by somebody else," he whispered and Kuon shook his head. Kyoko was too young for him right now. He'd be fine with waiting for her to grow up and develop into a young woman and then maybe he could take a chance and be with her at that time. He wanted to see her transform into a beautiful teenager and as long as they stayed friends, he would be there for her even if it turned out that she no longer wanted him.

…

…

Kyoko squeaked happily as she sat in the princess café. Kuu and Kuon had gone with her and her dad to Disneyland and Kuu had pulled some strings to get her a special lunch in the princess café. Lory had asked whether Kuon was okay being seen there. It wasn't really the place for a tough young boy but Kuon hadn't had a problem with it. Seeing Kyoko so happy meant more to him than protecting a ridiculous reputation.

"Oh my gosh, thank you thank you thank you," Kyoko said as Cinderella handed her the dessert.

"Of course, my little princess," Cinderella told her and Kyoko blushed a deep shade of red. She picked up her fork and put it into the cake. As she slipped the fork into her mouth she smiled widely and held to Kuon's arm.

"It's so yummy" she announced and Kuon's expression softened, he tilted his head to the side as he watched her. Seeing her so happy was worth it. All that he had wanted was for her to find his happiness and even the feeling that he had in some small way contributed towards it made him feel happy. "Corn, try some, it's delicious."

Kuon laughed softly before nodding and taking a bite of the cake. He nodded as he realized that as pink and sparkly as the piece of cake was, it was tasty. He smiled before taking a sip of his drink and saw the photographer take a picture of Kyoko with the princesses. These princesses were like idols to Kyoko and Kuon just wanted her to have a life filled with beauty.

"How about we visit the costume store after this," Lory suggested and Kuon nodded to him but Kyoko shook her head.

"Kuon said that he wants to go on some of the rides that they designed for people in…his condition," she said as she looked at the wheelchair. She hated that he still had his disability but it had given him some time to think and space where he could remain humble. Kyoko hated to say it but she was glad that Kuon was seeing the world in a more realistic way. He could have died as a ten-year-old but he was pushing through with his life and keeping himself motivated.

"In my condition, a lot of the rides have been designed for those in wheelchairs," he tried to reassure her and Kyoko felt her breath catch in her throat and she turned to look at Kuu who nodded.

"Thank goodness," she said with a soft breath out. "Let's do those then,"

"We can go to the fashion shop first," Kuon told the adults as he tried to think about how to make the day special for Kyoko and she looked at him with a weak smile before nodding in agreement. She looked at him before smiling.

"Then we can go on the Haunted Mansion ride that you want to go on," Kyoko announced and Kuon laughed weakly. Although he had wanted to go on the ride, he knew that Kyoko would probably get scared and he was prepared to leave those rides for when he could go with his father.

"We can pick a different ride," he told her and Kyoko shook her head.

"No. You've given me so much, I won't be scared. I'll be okay," she told him. "I want to do something that can help you," she told him and Kuon smiled weakly. He nodded slowly. He knew that she would be scared but she seemed confident enough that it wouldn't traumatize her for life.

…..

…

"I'll be waiting outside, okay?" Kuu told the two younger friends as they looked around the shop. He avoided getting too overly loving when it came to Kuon and gave him a simple squeeze on his shoulder. He looked to Kyoko hoping that the two of them would be able to take care of one another and went to see Lory who was compiling an inventory list which would be shipped to the agency. Kuu laughed as he realized that Lory was planning on creating outfits using the items he was collecting.

"So, you planning to change your entire wardrobe or just adding a few souvenirs into the collection?" Kuu joked and Lory turned to look over at the kids who were bonding with one another.

"You've done well, Shuuhei," Lory commented and Kuu blinked.

"Kuon is the one doing all of the work. He's a great son. He just needs a safe area to really explore and grow and I'm glad that I get to be close to him," Kuu saw Lory looking at him and shook his head. Kuon had been doing wonderfully the last couple of months and all Kuu had had to do was watch him and make sure that his activities were appropriate and weren't going to hurt him. It was a simple enough arrangement.

"Do you really think he'd grow up like this unsupervised, I mean, he's even fulfilling his work as a voice actor," Lory commented and Kuu laughed.

"Boss, thank you but I have to hope that Kuon is doing most of the work. I only want to guide him but you're right, it was a good idea to learn more about childhood development. Kuon has really had to struggle this past year. I just want to make sure he's on the right track for a successful future." Kuu looked away. He didn't want to talk about the opportunities that he had turned down so that he could spend some time with his son. Kuon could have died on numerous occasions and Kuu would rather avoid a funeral than visit a movie awards ceremony.

"Keep it up, Shuuhei," Lory encouraged him and Kuu smiled as he watched how Kuon and Kyoko were having fun with the hats that were of different Disney characters, "Continue whatever it is you're doing because you're really doing a wonderful job."

Kuu smiled and nodded, "Thanks Boss," he said as he watched his son proudly. Thank god that he hadn't lost Kuon during any of those close calls.

…..

…..

As the ride finished, Kuon looked down at the young girl who was clinging to him with her head pushed into his chest. She shivered as she felt him wrap his arms around her. Kuon had had a feeling that this ride would be too scary for her but he hadn't actually expected for her to start crying. He felt horrible that he was the cause of her tears. He stroked her hair back and kissed the top of her head before whispering.

"The ride is over," he told her and Kyoko twitched, "I'm sorry. It was too scary, we should have picked something else, I'm sorry I forced you here," he told her and Kyoko shook her head. She pulled away from Kuon so that Kuu could help transfer him back to the wheelchair.

"No, it's just…it was really sad," she said and Kuon looked at her guiltily. "It was fun," she lied with a nervous laugh. She was about to run over to him but felt her father pull her into a tight hug.

"You know, it's sad because those people, those ghosts, they were loved by others. When you are loved by others, death is tragic because it is the way we remember and show compassion," he tried to explain to her and Kyoko nodded slowly. "So we have to show our respects for the ghosts that appear at this mansion."

Kyoko blinked before smiling softly, "All right," she said as her teary eyes turned bright and she was able to smile which let Kuon feel extremely relieved. "Yes, I'll honor the memory of all the ghosts here," she told him and Kuon looked at her. She really was able to find the beauty in everything, it was amazing that she had stayed so strong when her mother had left her without much of what he had. He had to gain his strength through watching her and keeping her happy.

"Shall we go to the next ride?" Kuon asked and Kuu stepped forward.

"I'm going to see if there were any photographs from the ride," he told them and Kuon turned to Kyoko who was looking around and admiring the area of the mansion where they were standing.

"Thank you," she told the ghosts, "I hope you get to the afterlife safely," she said and Kuon laughed at that. This girl was beyond adorable.

 **End of Part Four – Chapter Twelve**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Eleven**

Brennakai, Guest, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD, The Real Jackie-O, twilightserius, Umiron,

 **Author Response**

I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter and I'm glad that people are enjoying this story. I do have plans for the future but I try and update all my fics so I don't forget about any of them so thanks for your support and your patience


	44. P4 - Chapter 13 - Always With You

**AN:** Just a warning, this chapter is pretty short as I'm going to do a time skip with the next chapter and start the next part. Thank you to everyone who continues to read this story.

 **Chapter Thirteen – Always With You**

Rick looked at Kuon and laughed. The young boy was staring out of the window at a bird. The love of nature was something that both he and Kyoko shared and although she had only left the day before, he still really did miss talking with her and her being here. He was glad that he had seen her happy the entire time they were together but he was starting to feel this lonely inadequacy within himself. It felt nice to have someone to help him through these emotions.

Rick seemed to be noticing how he was feeling a little more though and he was starting to despair of his friend. "You really should toughen up," he advised him and Kuon looked back at Rick.

"Yeah," he laughed, "Pretty hard to do from a wheelchair."

"You can learn fight moves in a wheelchair or are you an ableist?" Rick asked before frowning. "Listen, you're feeling sad because a young girl, someone too young for you to be attracted to without it being sickening left. She went home, Kuon. She was on vacation. You've got to learn how to be tough, how to strangle a chicken."

"Why would I want to do that?" Kuon asked with a frown. "I don't have anything against chickens."

"Apart from you are one, that's what people say at school that you're a chicken and that you're weak," he said and Kuon shrugged hearing that. "You think that's what they should be thinking."

"I don't think people respond to people who just try to be tough for no reason," Kuon told him. "I want to be able to land better roles in the future. I want to be known as kind and comforting and someone who you can talk to and have a conversation with."

"People think that you're gay," Rick said in despair and Kuon shrugged. "It makes me look gay."

"I don't think anyone thinks you're gay," Kuon told him, "and why should I worry about being known as a homosexual. I just tell them that I'm not. Being gay isn't an insult, some people are just attracted to other people."

"How about when people say you're a disappointment to your parents," Rick said and Kuon paled and bowed his head, that was something that he never wanted to hear. "They say that you're a disappointment to your parents and especially to your father." Kuon blinked as he looked ahead.

"People say that?" he asked and Rick nodded, feeling that he was getting control of this situation. "They say that about Dad."

"People might be afraid to hire him if he only has to take care of his son, if his son is a complete embarrassment to him," Rick said. "So you've got to learn to fight for your dad's sake, okay?" he asked and Kuon nodded. He really didn't want to let his father down, his dad would always be his hero.

…..

…..

Kyoko sat on her bed with the flute on her lap. She thought fondly about the time she had spent with Kuon. This time nothing bad had happened and she felt more confident that Kuon would be okay. She bowed her head and smiled. She had had a really good time with him and they had promised to keep in contact.

She wanted to wait until she was a teenager and could really express the way that Kuon made her feel. Hopefully nothing would happen that would prevent them from being friends. Kyoko stood, excited to contact Kuon again but as she opened her email she found an email from Shotaro where he was bragging about his plans to come to Tokyo and be famous.

Hopefully it wouldn't happen too soon. Kyoko could imagine Kuon's hand in her hand and his arm around her body as they passed Shotaro by. That was the dream that she had had. The little boy who had been a quadriplegic proving that he was better than Shotaro. It wasn't _too_ rude to think of things that way, was it?

 **End of Chapter Thirteen**

 **End of Part Four – Next is Part Five**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Twelve**

Brennakai, Erza, H-Nala, Kaname671, KrisXD, melchormonica8, misherukuro, paulagato


	45. P5 - Chapter 1 - Changes

**AN:** Of course there's a time skip in this. I'm currently facing a really hard problem that I wrote about in my profile but I hope you still enjoy this chapter.

 **Part Five**

 **Chapter One - Changes**

Kuon took a deep breath as he stopped in the alley. He was about to turn fourteen and Rick had taught him some things that would definitely change his life. In fact, Rick had taught him nearly everything. It had all started with a chicken named Brian that was supposed to resemble himself the fact that he was a chicken. He had once been a famous voice actor performing on two seasons of a Disney show but when he had tried to act on screen, the directors wanted more from him.

Kuon hadn't understood what he had done wrong. He was a famous voice actor but the media had used that to his disadvantage. He was already famous and so they had used his face on magazines and had directors call him a mixed mutt of a person. His father had been seeming to distance himself as well – he had acted in an independent but award winning movie – and so Kuon felt completely alone.

It was as if his father didn't care about him at all and as he looked at his hand where he had actually struck blood, he felt his chest closing in. How had he fallen into this madness and this anger? He had heard someone mock him for being part Japanese and lost it. He had to keep remembering Kyoko. Kyoko had been a truly positive influence on him at one point but he had become tired of her naivety. He still considered her a friend but it was time to date people his own age.

Rick had told him how to do it, how to have sex and Kyoko wasn't ready for that. He would be a sickening predator if he took advantage of a ten-year-old child and that's how old she now was. Maybe she was in single digits but she was still a baby compared to him. He felt a pain in his chest and leaned forwards. His dad would be disgusted if he learned what he had been doing.

"Took me forever to find you," Rick said as he stood at the end of the alley and Kuon looked up at him, trying to still control his breathing. "I mean, those were some pretty powerful moves you landed. You've definitely been practicing with your body."

"It makes no difference how much I practice," Kuon told him, "It doesn't stop it."

"The fight?" Rick asked with a chuckle, "Are you kidding me. You could have slaughtered them, you just need to gain a bit more body weight. You're pretty skinny but you're fast and your punches are powerful. If you practice even more you'll have them bowing at your feet….like what's the word for the ultimate bow in Japan?" he asked.

"A dogeza," Kuon said and Rick snapped his fingers and pointed at him.

"Exactly, they'll be doing that whilst begging you for mercy. A dogeza. It sounds great because they are dogs. As long as you keep your punches to them, I'd hate to be the target for you to rid yourself of your anger," Rick said as if Kuon hadn't just covered the ground in their blood. Kuon took another deep breath as he turned to him. He hadn't turned savage, had he?

"Maybe there's still a way to act," Kuon shrugged, not wanting to give up hope. "I mean, I know a lot about acting and there's still -"

"Are you still going on about that?" Rick laughed in disbelief. "You sound like a broken record. You've already tried acting. You know that you can do better than everyone in the field but they don't see it they're comfortable just putting you side by side against your dad. You're _not_ your dad." Rick told him and Kuon nodded.

"I know that I'm not my dad, I know that I'm not the actor that they're looking for. I don't know how to _be_ the actor that they are looking for."

Rick sighed, "You know that we're a team. I thought our friendship mattered to you."

Kuon felt guilt within his chest and he nodded, turning to him and feeling that he was losing what was really important to him. He didn't want to risk losing Rick's friendship. That was one of the only things that he had left in his life. He wanted to be the best friend possible but _was_ that possible, especially for him.

…..

…..

Kyoko looked around the private school that she had been attending for the past few years, actually she had been attending it ever since she had been taken in by her adoptive father but there was something special that she was going to try to do today. She hadn't told Kanae this but she had signed up for an acting class. Kuon hadn't spoken to her about acting in a long time, it had once been so important to him but it seemed that he didn't care about it anymore, not the way that Moko-chan did.

She was an amazing musician, having continued her study in that field and actors were always impressive if they knew something else besides acting. She held to her bag and made her way to where the acting classes were. She had been told that she could join the LME actors program but she was a complete beginner and she kept thinking that she would let her father down.

Kyoko made her way to the classroom and saw there were a dozen other students there. Extra curriculars were important things in school and this would be great, two birds with one stone although she didn't like that saying.

She sat down and saw someone move seats to sit next to her. This was her friend, Jun. Jun had always admired her fashion – especially her costume design – and sure, he was no Kuon but he was somebody her own age that she could enjoy the company of. That didn't mean that she had stopped thinking about Kuon. Corn was more important to her than any other boy.

"I thought you'd be here," Jun winked at her, "I mean, your father is really into acting."

"Singing and talent departments too," Kyoko attempted to remind him and Jun nodded. "I don't think that I could be a singer and I'm not too sure I want to be a host. Acting is more interesting than being a host."

"I'll second that," Jun smiled.

As the class started, Kyoko kept seeing Jun look at her and then quickly turn away from her. It was obvious that he was interested in her but Kyoko had only actually been interested in two boys and her love for Sho was no more. She didn't want to lead him on but she valued friendship in the school. When she was back in Kyoto, people had been jealous of her being friends with Sho and had called her names, she never wanted to go back there.

As the teacher stood in the front of the class, everyone stood and gave a formal bow, "Hello, class" she said.

Kyoko smiled as the rest of the class said in unison, "Good afternoon, sensei."

"You may be seated," the teacher said and Kyoko looked up with her bright smile that everybody fell in love with and caught Jun staring at her again. Kyoko had to admit that he did look a little like Corn if only his hair wasn't black and his eyes weren't that chocolate brown. "So, the first thing that we're going to be learning about is what is acting and this is a more difficult question than you might think. I want you to listen to me as I explain it and it might be good to take notes."

Kyoko nodded eagerly before pulling her notebook out from her bag. Jun watched her and took out his own notebook.

"You're really excited, aren't you?" he asked and Kyoko nodded.

"Two of my special friends are fans of acting and Kuon has actually been acting for a while. I hope he has more acting jobs, he hasn't written to me about them. We used to email each other at least once every other day but he's been so busy," she stated.

Jun sighed, "You really want for him to be your boyfriend, don't you?" he asked her and Kyoko looked down.

"Once upon a time, I did," she said and Jun blinked, surprised because Kyoko always talked about Kuon in a certain way. "Now I know what he meant by seeing what the future holds for us," she said and Jun could see that even though she was saying this, she did want to someday make him her prince. He had never met the guy but with the way that Kyoko always spoke of him, he must be pretty special.

…..

…..

Kuon slowly closed the door, hoping that he wouldn't draw attention to himself. He knew that his dad worried about some of the expressions on his face but even though his dad had studied sociology when it came to teenagers, he didn't know what the hell he was talking about and the fact that he cared so much made Kuon feel that he was backed into a corner.

How could he continue without shaming his father?

Unfortunately, he wasn't that lucky. His dad came up excitedly to the door and was confused by the frustrated and annoyed look that Kuon had. Kuu took a step back. "Did something happen, Kuon?" he asked him and Kuon shrugged before walking past him.

Kuu watched him. His innocent boy seemed to have vanished over the past couple of months but he must be imagining it. Kuon was a passionate actor who always tried to smile and show how happy and lucky he felt. He was just imagining that he was in a bad mood.

"Did you want to go over lines?" Kuu offered, trying to cheer Kuon up. It was as if he didn't know how to anymore. He had once been so good at it, once had Kuon look at him as if he were a hero and an inspiration.

Kuon glared at him, "So I can be just like you, right!?" he yelled and Kuu took a step back. This was puberty, right? Kuon going through his teenage years? He wanted his independence?

"I'm not asking you to be just like me," Kuu said slowly, "I want to help you because you love acting and I thought that I cou-"

"So, I'm only considered your son if I love acting!" Kuon yelled at him again. "That's the only thing that matters to you, your precious acting!? Why don't you leave me the hell alone. That's what you're really good at."

Kuu froze and looked away, "Kuon, if you're having these negative feelings because of my work," he said and Kuon frowned.

"I wouldn't want to mess up your precious schedule!" he snapped. "Just leave me the hell alone! I wish that I had a different father! If you weren't my father I would be much happier!"

Kuu opened his mouth to say something but didn't know what to say, he didn't understand why Kuon was suddenly acting this way. Had he done something wrong? Should he try to limit the jobs that required location shoots so that he could spend more time with his son. He saw Kuon start to stomp his way up the stairs.

"I love you, Kuon," he whispered weakly and Kuon glared at him.

"Wow," he said with a roll of his eyes, "I almost believed that."

 **End of Chapter One**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Part Four Chapter Thirteen**

Erza, Guest, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD, misherukuro, Paulagato, Tam2013, The Real Jackie-O


	46. P5 - Chapter 2 - Given By Family

**Chapter Two – Given By Family**

Kyoko was excited to come back home that day and tell her father what she had learned in the acting class. She was a little nervous because the agency was filled with extremely talented kids and she wondered whether she would be considered as annoying him by wanting to talk about acting as well. She wasn't as good as the other students but she wanted to try her best.

As she entered the house, she froze and saw someone that she hadn't ever expected to see again. She took a step back as she blinked up at her mother. Her mother had seemed far too happy to get rid of her all those years ago and was she actually here to get her back. Kyoko had moved on from that pain. Her mother still had a special place within her heart but Kyoko didn't want to admit that she knew her mother didn't care about her.

"You shouldn't have come here," Lory sighed as Kyoko decided to hide from the two of them. She managed to find somewhere where neither of them had any idea of her presence.

"The girl is mine biologically," Saena argued, "Now that she's actually worth something."

"First of all, I adopted Kyoko and that makes her _my_ daughter and I will argue my case to be her father in any court throughout Japan. As someone who works as a lawyer, you should know that to be the case. Second, she has always been worth something. You can't put a price on human life and I don't want you to hurt her again. She's been doing extremely well."

Kyoko looked at Lory. Her adoptive father looked angrier than he ever had before and it surprised her a little bit. She bowed her head and tried to steady her breathing. Was he fighting this hard for her because he loved her? She looked up and saw her mother sigh before shooting a glare at him.

"I think that certain things can be overturned," she said and Lory frowned at her.

"What is this about? You've always seemed to reject Kyoko in the past," he stated and Kyoko felt her heart squeeze. She understood that her father was coming from a place of love but she didn't want to hear about how much her mother disliked her. This was her biological mother, the only biological family she knew of.

"It's none of your business but it's…she is being given something that she doesn't deserve," Saena commented and Lory raised his chin.

"Careful," he warned her slowly, "this is _my_ daughter that you're talking about and you've already pushed me beyond the point where I would usually call security."

"You think it's okay for her grandparents, people who she has never even met, to give her most of their money as inheritance?" she asked looking as if the idea were shocking. Lory looked at her surprised. "See,"

"Kyoko has no need for those things," Lory said trying to brush her off without even hearing about the amount of money or why this was coming into question at the present time. "Anything that she needs to have provided to her, I'll be more than happy to give to her. She has a good life here and if you need to be paid off so you don't come here again."

"Are you really going to keep her away from Kyoto? Keep her from seeing people who unfortunately are idiotic enough to what to give her money?" Saena asked and Lory sighed, still frowning at her and being uncomfortable with what she was saying but he cared about Kyoko too much to give a definitive answer. "I'll be taking my leave now."

Lory sighed, he let himself get control of his breathing before shaking his head. "It's despicable that you come here, pretending to give a damn about her when we both know the truth. I'll talk to her though. She might want to actually go."

Saena rose her chin showing the feeling of superiority and walked out as Lory growled wanting to know the best way of helping his adopted daughter.

…

…

Kuu froze as he tried to figure things out in his head. He had wanted to be a good parent for Kuon but something was going on with his kid right now that he couldn't understand. He sighed and pushed a hand through his hair, hopefully it wasn't too late to change things. His son was facing puberty, right? He had been changing for a while, ever since he had trouble finding another acting role.

Maybe if he found a way for him to act then he would feel better or at least he might be able to see a smile from time to time and a smile not to do with Rick who Kuu was starting to view as a bad influence on his son.

He knew that Kuon would most likely yell at him or hurl insults at him if he tried to approach this situation wanting to talk with him but wasn't that the best decision that he could make. He steadied himself and then went up to Kuon's room and knocked on the door. He slowly opened it and stuck his head in to find Kuon on his side on his bed looking frustrated.

"Hey," he tried as he came towards his son. "Are you doing okay?"

"I guess," Kuon said bitterly, "What the hell are you doing? You don't want to talk with me?"

"How many sons do you think I have?" Kuu chuckled and then saw Kuon turn to him with an annoyed expression. Kuu sighed and sat down on the side of the bed. "I know I haven't been too great of a father recently but if you're willing to try to give me another chance," he suggested and Kuon turned to him and shook his head.

"Why do you turn everything into your problem, you always make yourself the center of attention," he said and Kuu touched his shoulder but pulled back as Kuon flinched. Something was going on with his son that he wasn't able to realize and without Kuon actually telling him the problem, Kuu was going to have a hard time guessing.

"I'm sorry if I do that," Kuu apologized, "but this isn't about me. This is about you. What do you want to say, Kuon?"

"You've never cared before," Kuon said stubbornly and Kuu sighed. That was obviously wrong but he wasn't going to push Kuon to speak to him if he didn't want to. "Why would you care now?"

"I have always cared," Kuu told him, "You're my son. I have always tried to be there for you," he said and Kuon shook his head. "I will always be fighting along side you so what are we fighting right now?" he asked and Kuon sighed.

"I'm not you," he said and Kuu chuckled but found Kuon to sharply glare at him. "Okay, you're not me and it's good that you're not me, I have my flaws that I don't want you to feel responsible for or that you feel we share. So, why are you wanting to be like me?"

"I'm not," Kuon said as he sat up but then shook his head. "Don't…don't misunderstand, I do want to be your son. I'm proud of being your son, Dad, but it's hard. They all expect me to be like you and I'm not like you. I can't do what you've spent years attempting to achieve and they know I'm not good enough."

"Who does?" Kuu asked confused.

"The directors, producers, talent agents, whoever" Kuon said as he stood and Kuu watched him sadly. Kuon laughed and pushed a hand through his hair. "I didn't think it would be this hard but they all expect me to be a miniature version of you and I can't do it. I'm so angry. Why do you have to be so good?"

Kuu opened his mouth to reply to that but then bowed his head, "I'm sorry," he apologized and Kuon growled again. Maybe an apology wasn't what was needed here. "There's a dark side to the acting world as well. People will often not give you the benefit of the doubt or they'll not want to say that they were wrong in their decisions. Is that the problem, you want to act and you're not able to?" Kuu asked.

"I can't keep an acting role," Kuon told him and Kuu looked at him patiently. "They expect me to be perfect."

"Do you want me to talk to anyone?" Kuu offered and Kuon shook his head, turning away angrily.

"So that I can have even more special treatment because I'm your son?" he asked before sitting down with a deep sigh and his body starting to shake. "Tell me what I'm doing wrong," he said and Kuu looked at him, moving so that he was sitting in front of him and they were facing one another.

"Nothing," he told him. "You're not doing anything wrong. You just need to have patience, it'll happen one day."

Kuon looked at him painfully before looking at his wrist. Rick had tried to tell him to never explain this to his father but Kuon felt that it was for the best. His dad wouldn't hate him right? "I think I need to talk to someone professional about my anger issues," he said and Kuu looked at him in shock. His son had anger issues?

"I've been fighting," he said and Kuu nodded slowly. "I need for it to stop. I don't want to hurt anyone else but it's as if someone else enters my mind. Do you know what I mean?"

Kuu bowed his head and closed his eyes, he hadn't wanted to share this part of his life with his son but maybe it was time for Kuon to know about the early Kuu HIzuri. "Yes," he nodded and Kuon looked to him taken aback, "Yes, I do know what you mean."

…

…

Kyoko snuck into her father's office late in the evening. She wanted to know what had happened with her mother but had been nervous in asking him the truth. Her past wasn't something that they discussed a lot, especially her family background. Her father had tried to give her happy memories and provide for her but there were things that he couldn't give her.

Kyoko smiled as she saw the travel plans and froze. She had expected for her father to make plans at a connections residence or an extravagant hotel but what she actually discovered was a lot more confusing to her. He was trying to book a room in the Fuwa ryokan.

Kyoko hadn't seen Shotaro for a very long time and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about that. She had left that part of her life behind and she and Shotaro had fallen out of contact. Seeing him again made her feel a little nervous and that didn't feel fair to Shotaro or his family. She would have to impress them with the news things that she had learned.

Kyoko sighed, she wished she could tell Kuon this but he had changed over the past years. She just hoped that he was doing okay and that he could tackle any problems that might come to him. He had had a hard enough life as it was.

 **End of Chapter Two**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter One**

Brennakai, Erza, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD, Niiissaann, Tam2013, The Real Jackie-O,


	47. P5 - Chapter 3 - A Shot in the Dark

**AN: Trigger warnings for guns and for suicidal actions**

 **Chapter Three – A Shot in the Dark**

Kuu sighed as he turned to Julie, watching as she got into their bed. He knew that he should probably say something about what Kuon had told him but it seemed like a betrayal of the trust that his son had given him. He didn't want to make Kuon rethink the idea of sharing this with him. The fighting should be stopped but Kuu could see it from his son's point, he could understand that they weren't just going to solve this by disciplining him. There had to be another way than sending him to a boot camp. Kuon was a sweet kid, he just seemed a little screwed up right now.

Kuu pushed his hand through his hair and turned to Julie. "I need to get myself a glass of water," he said as he put his hand to her cheek and pushed a couple of strands of her hair behind her ear. He grinned to her. "You look amazing," he grinned in a playful way and Julie kissed him.

"You always look amazing," she laughed, "but thank you. Did you want for me to get it, I can…"

Kuu guided Julie back into the bed as she tried to get out and she watched him. Kuu sometimes could be extremely serious about the type of food that he would eat but there was more in his expression than just whether or not to eat something unhealthy or not. "I can get it, I need to think about some things," he said and Julie put a hand to his chest.

"You don't have to think about things on your own anymore, that's why I'm here. We can share our thoughts and our feelings and work together as a team," she made an attempt to remind him but Kuu shook his head.

"I can't," he apologized and saw the distress in Julie's expression, he kissed her forehead. "I promise that I'm going to be okay."

Kuu stood and went to the door. Suddenly he felt a sharp shock through his body but it cleared up almost immediately. Had he strained a muscle whilst he had been working which he hadn't noticed. Was he getting old. No. No, it wasn't to do with age, yes, he wasn't a spring chicken anymore but he wasn't an elderly aged man who needed a walker to get around. He was a father but Kuon wasn't _that_ old.

Kuu sighed and made his way down the stairs. He blinked confused as he saw that there was a light on. He walked towards it wondering if he had left it on but as he came into the room, there were two things that caught his attention. The first was that Kuon was sitting looking extremely pale on a chair in the kitchen and the second was the gun that he was holding. It wasn't a prop but there was no way that Kuon knew how to load those things.

"Hey," Kuu laughed awkwardly as he went to the kitchen table where Kuon stared at him as if he had been possessed by a ghost. "What's going on? Why'd you take out the gun?" he asked. He looked at his son as Kuon shivered and stared in front of him guiltily, he was struggling between two worlds and Kuu realized that it was more serious than he had given it credit for.

"If I die then it'll mean others can live," he said as he picked up the gun and Kuu watched him with wide eyes. What was he doing?

"Kuon," Kuu said slowly as he saw Kuon holding the handgun. He turned it towards him and Kuu's heart nearly exploded from his chest. He could hear Kuon release the safety and Kuu managed to strike it out of Kuon's hand so that the gun flew off into one area and shot a bullet into the wall whilst Kuu protected Kuon who he had wrapped up in his arms.

Kuu looked at his son in complete horror, "Are you hurt?" he panicked with hundreds of questions running through his mind. What would have happened if he had been too late? What would have happened were he not to understand what Kuon was doing? Kuu could sense the danger dying but his body was still tense and he wasn't going to let his son go.

"Dad…why did you…" Kuon struggled and Kuu gaped as he looked between his son and the gun that was on the ground. What did he even mean why did he stop him? They were family and Kuu wasn't going to lose what was most precious again? Who had twisted Kuon's mind so much that he now had _this_ type of thinking?

…..

…..

Kyoko smiled as she sat in the private car as they travelled to Kyoto. Her father had wanted her to have luxury travel but that didn't matter to her. What mattered to her was trying to impress the people who had taken care of her in the past, those who had believed that she had a future even if it was a different type of future than they had planned. Her father was always trying to put the plans together so that she could have the type of life she dreamed of. Her dream was to stay as his daughter.

"Are you excited?" Lory asked with a playful chuckle and Kyoko nodded as she looked down at her diary that she had brought. Lory winked at her, "Taking a lot of notes, I wish you would let me read that one day. The thoughts of young ladies must be quite entertaining and enriching. It would delight me to -"

"No, you can't read it," Kyoko said as she blushed and looked down, clutching the diary to her chest. "Sorry, it's my dreams and I'd rather tell you all about my dreams."

"I want to hear about them, any time that you choose," Lory replied to her and Kyoko smiled before she looked out the window again. There was so much more greenery than in Tokyo prefecture. This had to be close to the type of setting in which she had seen Corn and his fairy garden.

"I hope that Fuwa-san will be proud of who I'm becoming," Kyoko smiled and Lory nodded.

"They have the son, right? Shotaro, the one that you were friends with as a girl," Lory commented and Kyoko blushed. She felt a little silly that she had had such an infatuation with him at one point. He was a good guy deep down but he hadn't treated her in a princely way but it seemed like her prince didn't have time for her any longer. She wanted to make sure her friends were happy but she didn't know if that was something that she could do alone anymore.

Kyoko sighed and closed her eyes, her cheek resting upon the window and Lory moved her so that she could lean against him whilst she slept. Taking this little girl in as his own daughter hadn't only changed her life but it had changed his as well. He just wanted to protect her happiness and that was something that her mother wouldn't be able to do for her.

…..

…..

Kyoko felt an excitement throughout her whole being as she saw where they had stopped. This was Shotaro's inn and she had hoped that she would be welcomed back on good terms. She saw her father get out and tell his driver what bags to take out. She looked around and saw the guests staring at their luxury car.

"How about we go in?" he asked and Kyoko nodded. She blinked up and smiled as she saw Mrs. Fuwa come to the entrance way. She stopped and stood in front of the okami-san before dropping into a deep bow.

"Hello, it's good to see you again. Thank you for letting me stay here," she said in a sweet manner and Mrs. Fuwa laughed softly before dropping into her own bow and Kyoko looked up with a wide smile and bright, shining eyes.

"It's my pleasure to welcome you back, Kyoko-chan," she said before kneeling down next to her and opening her arms, Kyoko ran into the woman's eyes and Sho's mother looked up at Lory and smiled, thanking him with just his eyes. He nodded and Kyoko ran back to her father.

She was about to say something when she heard a familiar voice.

"Heh, never thought that you'd be able to come back after just leaving without proper goodbyes," Sho said and Kyoko looked at him. She sighed, he looked rebellious and she was a little sad for him that he couldn't even talk to his parents about his own feelings and interests. He still didn't feel the confidence to speak up for his beliefs. She blinked at him. Objectively he looked attractive and fashionable but she no longer felt those strong emotions for him that she had once built a future upon.

"Hello, Sho-san," she said and Sho's eyes widened at the formality.

"You don't have to treat me like a damn stranger, Kyoko, just because you think that that cripple friend of yours is a better person than I was. I've changed. I've become someone new, someone different," he argued and Kyoko sighed before smiling.

"I'd like to see that for myself," she said beaming with her self-confidence against Shotaro. He wouldn't be able to manipulate her any longer, she was a different person now. However, if Shotaro was honestly offering her friendship then she wanted to turn the other cheek and forgive him. It didn't mean he would get to dictate what she did but friends were good to have. She had forgiven Kuon numerous times, she could forgive Shotaro as well.

…..

…..

Kuon looked at the floor of the therapist's office. He took slow breaths as he looked at the therapist again and then turned to see his father there on another chair looking horrified still. He felt terrible that he had put his father in such a position but he had truly thought that the world would be better if he was gone from it.

"So, can we talk about what happened?" the therapist asked and Kuon sighed.

"You mean about the gun?" he asked and the therapist nodded slowly. Kuon looked over to his father who hadn't been able to sleep or eat properly since he had knocked that gun out of his hand. Kuon sighed and Kuu moved forwards, "I just thought that it would be better for everybody if I wasn't here. I haven't been able to concentrate and I think it's causing pain for everyone," Kuon said honestly.

Kuu leaned forward, "I don't…" the therapist shook her head to him but damn it, Kuu was going to say something about this. "You haven't done anything wrong or anything which has caused pain. We love you, Kuon. We want you very much. How could you ever think that we didn't?"

"I don't think that making it so Kuon judges himself is going to help," the therapist told him and then moved backwards before picking up a sample of a medication as well as some documents on it. "I think it's going to be better if we try to put Kuon on an anti depressant."

Kuu looked at her, "What are the side effects?" he asked nervously and Kuon opened his mouth to protest but it seemed that Kuu could only try to think about what was best for his kid even if it did involve drugging him. "I don't want him on anything that will do further harm to him."

"Do you love Kuon or not?" the therapist asked and Kuu froze.

Of course he did, was that not obvious?

 **End of Chapter Three**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Two**

Brennakai, Erza, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD, misherukuro, PaulaGaTo, Tam2013


	48. P5 - Chapter 4 - Never Put Me Down Again

**AN:** A little shorter than I was planning to write but I like how I ended it.

 **Chapter Four – Never Put Me Down Again**

Kuu looked in front of him as he debated about the medication. What Kuon had done would worry and horrify any parent and a lot of people wouldn't know how to deal with Kuon and would lock him away for his own protection. Kuu definitely didn't want to be one of those parents but forcing his son onto medication was something that he had always disagreed with. He needed to protect Kuon.

"Dad…" Kuon said weakly as he saw the way his father looked pained by the decision.

"Do you love Kuon or not?" the therapist asked and Kuu felt himself shiver. Kuon looked between them fearing that maybe there would be a chance of Kuu looking at her and giving her a firm no. Kuu nodded. He didn't want to be the bad guy here and he didn't know the side effects. He only know that he wanted Kuon to be alive.

"I'll take the medication," Kuon said and Kuu looked at him.

"You know I love you more than anything, right?" he asked as he hoped that that went without argument. He only had one son, one little boy and it wasn't as if Kuon had done anything wrong. The situation was wrong and messed up and Kuon wasn't thinking correctly.

"I think that Xanex would be the best dru-" the therapist said and Kuu looked at her with wide eyes. He knew the way that Xanex and Zoloft worked and there had to be another drug that Kuon could take. "No, Zoloft might work better."

"Isn't that kind of strong for a child Kuon's age?" Kuu asked nervously. The side effects of Zoloft were severe and it wasn't as if Kuon were a bad child who he couldn't talk to. Kuu just worried that Kuon would lose what made him _Kuon_.

"I think that it's best for something strong, your son attempted to kill himself. I'd think that the alternative would be to lock him up and those places are expensive and might not help if there are loving par-" the therapist suggested and Kuu could hear Kuon start to sob.

"Please don't lock me up, Dad" he begged and Kuu stood, going over to Kuon and wrapping his arms around him securely.

"Nobody wants to lock you up," he said and then turned to the therapist, "I'll look after him. I have some jobs to finish but I'll stop work after that to take care of him," he said as Kuon turned to him in horror. He hadn't asked for his dad to do that, make that type of a sacrifice. "I don't think that Zoloft is the answer. I'd like to have information about all of the possible treatment plans if Kuon is to go onto medication."

"There is another drug that I'm prepared to send you to a psychiatrist for them to prescribe after an evaluation," the therapist noted. "It's called Abilify."

"Abilify," Kuu repeated, he hadn't heard anything about that drug. "Will it really help him?" he asked as Kuon managed to wriggle out of his hold.

"I'll do it. I just don't want to be locked up. I'll do it," he pleaded and Kuu looked to him feeling that he had failed Kuon as his father. He nodded slowly.

"Just give me the instructions," he said as he sat back a little from Kuon but still smoothed his son's hair. Even if Kuon wasn't a little kid anymore, Kuu wanted to take care of him, he _needed_ to make sure that he was safe and he would never try to kill himself ever again.

…..

…..

Sho rolled his eyes as he turned to Kyoko who was sitting up politely for dinner. He sat with his legs crossed despite everyone else sitting with their knees bent. He didn't want to be like them and conform to what was expected from him even if it was just sitting in a formal position. He watched as Kyoko politely drank her tea and smiled up at the man who had claimed her as his daughter.

"The food truly is incredible," the taller, older male said and Kyoko nodded.

Kyoko smiled up to the man who looked like he could be her grandfather and not just her so-called father. "Yes, Fuwa-san's cooking is amazing," she turned towards Sho's parents and bowed. "Thank you so much," she said to them quickly and Lory nodded.

"I agree, thank you for having us and especially for eating with us," he said before looking at Sho. "It's also nice to eat with you, Fuwa-kun," he said respectfully and Sho looked at him with wide eyes.

"Well, it's not good to eat with you," he said and Kyoko felt her back straighten at the way that Sho had just insulted Lory. She saw Lory smile patiently but that wasn't enough for her. She would try to make sure that Shotaro apologized to him. Lory had given her so much and she truly did see him as a father.

"I apologize for my son," Sho's mother said with a weak smile, "he always has been independently minded," she said and Kyoko looked between Sho and his mother. Once again he was having someone apologize to him on his behalf. Had he learned nothing?

"It's quite all right, your son is still a child in the world. He is allowed to have his own personality, or at least that's how I feel. Hopefully, he will be able to change in the future but I don't take insult at him at the present." Kyoko smiled as she heard that but Sho stared at them. He felt even more insulted. He stood up without saying anything and walked towards his bedroom despite his mother calling after him.

Kyoko looked down, "May I be excused for a moment?" she asked in a very formal and respectful manner. Sho's mother nodded and Kyoko left the room to follow Sho.

"Kyoko always has been a wonderful child," Fuwa-san complimented. "It was very nice for you to take her in as your daughter. I feel that she deserves a life that, this is very rude of me to say, Saena-san would never have given her."

Lory looked at her with a grin, "Kyoko isn't the lucky one in my opinion," he told her with a sense of pride. "I am lucky enough to be acknowledged as her father."

…..

…..

Kyoko followed Sho into his bedroom where he spun around to face her. He looked at her angrily and Kyoko took a step back. She knew that Sho often got emotional especially when he felt he was wronged in some way. He was admired in school and spoiled by his parents and now he was seen as an outcast in Kyoko's life. He had grown up with her idolizing him and now she just seemed a completely different person.

"Sho-kun?" Kyoko asked as she came to the room. "Do you truly have a problem with my father? He's a very nice person despite the fact that he sometimes wears flashy clothes. He's taken a lot of care of me and he's encouraged me to have fun and develop passions and dreams."

"You're not supposed to be developing dreams," Sho said bitterly. "You're _supposed_ to be here, helping my parents out. That was the life that you were born into. You weren't born to be rich and definitely not to a famous family."

Kyoko opened her mouth to argue. She knew that she had been lucky to meet Corn, she had been lucky that the HIzuris had given her so much love as a family, she was extremely lucky to meet with Lory Takarada and extremely lucky that he had accepted her as his daughter. Kyoko looked at Sho, not sure what to say to him.

"I thought that you could at least be happy for me," Kyoko protested and Sho rolled his eyes. "We've been friends for a long time," Kyoko said and Sho looked to her bitterly.

"I don't remember your friendship for the past number of years," he said and Kyoko looked away. Yes, she hadn't wanted to keep in contact with him after the way that he had treated Kuon when Kuon was unable to act independently. She was still there for him now though, she was still willing to listen to him.

"I'm sorry," she said and Sho laughed bitterly. "I didn't really know if you wanted to be friends with me. I've been doing a lot of different things and I found a best friend who I really love in Tokyo and who I get to spend time with. Are your parents still limiting your freedom as you said?"

"Didn't you see them?" Sho asked as he gestured to where they had been eating. "They obviously are happier that you're here than that I am. Wasn't the issue that your mother wanted some kind of value from you now that you're rich and snobby."

"I don't know," Kyoko said uneasily. She didn't want to admit that her mother had only wanted her when she had believed that she was worth something and that she wanted to stay with her father who had adopted her and who listened to her and what she needed. Her birth mother had never really listened to her in that way. "I'm going to go back and eat. I hope that you join us," she told him and Sho sighed.

"Don't you realize that you're supposed to still be wearing rags?" he asked her and Kyoko turned back to him with a confused expression. "I mean, you think you're Cinderella but you don't deserve to have that kind of a life. You're still supposed to be waiting for your fairy godmother."

Kyoko felt tears appear in her eyes but she shook her head. She didn't want to let his words affect her right now. He was angry that she had changed and maybe that was a legitimate reason to carry that type of anger. Kyoko didn't want to be sucked into that black hole though.

"You should grow up and I really hope you do," she said as she stood up for herself. "As for me, I am going back to eat with your parents and perhaps you could stop being a brat and join us," she said as she walked away and Shotaro's jaw dropped. Kyoko had never spoken to him that way before and he didn't like it. She now had a fancy lifestyle and thought that she was better than he was. She wasn't supposed to be like that, she was still supposed to be working here for his family.

As Kyoko returned to the table, she sat down and took the bowl of rice from in front of her and began eating it. She felt a chill down her back. She hadn't wanted for anything bad to happen and she truly hadn't wanted for that argument but she wanted to live a happy life and not one that felt sad and made her cry.

After all, it had been Kuon who had kept her tears from falling and she wanted him to be happy. She wanted to be happy because of him. Life no longer seemed something that she couldn't understand and she wasn't going to let Shotaro make her feel inadequate ever again.

 **End of Chapter Four**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Three**

Brennakai, Dreamerkins, Guest (x2), H-Nala, Kaname671, KrisXD, Tam2013,


	49. P5 - Chapter 5 - A Disappointment

**Chapter Five – A Disappointment**

Kuu stared at the bottle of prescription medication in front of him. The doctor had told him that Kuon would normally be a little too young to be put on such strong drugs but that he was presenting a rare case and they needed to help him in any way possible. Kuu was grateful that other people wanted to protect his child but he felt so wrong about this.

As he tapped his phone, waiting on the return call from his agent – he had said that he would need some more personal time off of work – Kuu watched the stove and smelled the aroma of the dinner that he was cooking for them. He looked to the pills. They were supposed to be taken with food and Kuu felt terrible that he was forcing Kuon to take them but it was better than the alternative.

Kuu heard the timer ding and checked on the steak before putting it on the plates and keeping Julie's covered for when she came home. He took his and Kuon's food and put them down at the table. He turned to his son with a weak smile. His breath stopped as Kuon picked up the pills and tuned them in his hands before nodding and swallowing them with the help of a glass of water.

Kuu physically flinched as he watched Kuon do that. No parent happily relied on medication to make their child happy when they themselves couldn't do anything. Kuon wasn't strange to him though and Kuu would never call him psychotic. Ever since Kuon was ten his life had seemed to become more and more complicated.

"Thank you," Kuu whispered as he stared at his food and Kuon turned to him feeling guilty about the way his father appeared.

"Dad…I…I never," Kuon said quickly and Kuu shook his head.

"Let's talk about something else," he attempted to smile. Kuon bowed his head guiltily and Kuu looked over to him. "I love you," he tried to remind him and Kuon nodded not sure what to say to his father who was willing to give up everything for him. "I…I um…school…"

"Yeah," Kuon said as he looked away, "they call me a freak," he told him and Kuu opened his mouth to argue but then didn't know whether to continue. He wanted to prove to Kuon that he was in his corner and that he loved him. "Dad, it's fine, you don't have to…"

"Maybe we should move," Kuu thought aloud and Kuon looked at him in shock.

"Dad, this is _your_ home," he said quickly and Kuu stared at him in shock. "You and Mom, this is your home. I can't take your home away from you. You want to be an actor, Mom wants to be an actress and a model. That's what is important to you!" he said and Kuu stood up. He came over to Kuon and wrapped the boy up in his arms.

"You're what is most important to me," he said wanting to think about private schools that Kuon could attend in the area. Maybe a whole new change would help him. Kuu just didn't want to lose his son. The worst thing that could happen would be for him to come home and find Kuon dead on the ground when he could help him, when he could have saved him.

As painful as giving him this medication was, Kuu just wanted to help his little boy. Recovery was their first goal but survival was what they really should be working towards.

…

…..

Kyoko followed Sho to the prep school that his parents were making him attend. Kyoko had the feeling that Sho definitely didn't go every day. Prep school was optional, it wasn't something that every student needed to do but Kyoko would feel terrible if he was deceiving his parents about something so important. She had the feeling that he was due to his complete lack of interest.

"Why are you following me?" Sho asked Kyoko who shrugged.

"You seemed to want me to pay you attention," she told him before looking around and thinking of all the childhood memories that she had developed here, not all of those had been happy memories. Kyoko saw Sho give a small frown but she knew he was correct.

"You're not going to be a tattle tale are you?" he asked and Kyoko bit her top lip. "Forget it. You're as bad as them, can't support my dreams at all. You're all the same. Boring and stupid, you should have…"

"I get top marks," Kyoko told him and Sho stared at her looking a little dumbfounded, "At my prep school in Tokyo, I'm ranked in the top five," she said and Sho's eyes widened, he had never known Kyoko to gloat in this manner. She was acting as if she were better than he was.

"I bet you don't have friends though," Sho said trying to say that he was better than her and Kyoko smiled, spinning around to walk in front of him and face him, walking backwards.

"I have the most incredible friend in the whole world," she bragged as she thought about Kanae. She loved having a girl that she regularly spent time with, that she could share secrets with, who she felt a bond like siblings to. That had definitely been missing during her years in Kyoto.

"Are they imaginary?" Sho asked with a cold laugh and Kyoko was about to reply but found someone to shove her out of the way and then latch themselves onto Shotaro's arm. Kyoko fell onto the ground but managed to dust herself off, taking a step away from the two of them.

"He's mine! Get lost you tramp!" one girl said and Kyoko looked up to see that it was a girl who went by the nickname of Momo. Kyoko wasn't sure whether she still used that name or not but she had seemed to get her wish by the way that she was clutching hard to Shotaro's arm. Kyoko's eyes glazed over. Of _course_ Shotaro was still Mr. Popularity and he wanted everyone to know it.

"You can have him," Kyoko shrugged. "I don't live here anyway but you should probably be respectful and ask him what he wants. That's only fair."

Momo turned to Kyoko and her eyes widened as she realized who Kyoko was. She pulled Sho away from her, tugging at his arm in a very overprotective manner. Kyoko laughed and rolled her eyes. "You're not better than Shotaro, you might have gone to the big city but you're still a small and petty girl."

Kyoko would, at one point, have run off and cried about being talked to in such a manner but she now knew she had her own light and that was something her adoptive father wanted her to experience and have full confidence in.

"I'm not running after him any longer," Kyoko said as she turned to walk away and Sho's jaw dropped at that. For as long as he could remember, Kyoko had always called him a prince and talked about fairy tales as if they were a road map to real life. She was ready to drop all of that and walk away, let him be pulled away by another woman. This was a new confident Kyoko and it made Sho feel angry that her attention was pulled elsewhere.

Was this what Tokyo did to people? Did Tokyo really have the capability to change people in these kinds of ways. If so, he really wanted to go there. If it was him and a music career then Kyoko wouldn't be able to see anything else apart from him. For some unknown reason, all Sho wanted was to fill Kyoko's minds with thoughts about how lucky she had once been to be so close to him.

…

…

Kuon had gone a little quiet after his second dosage of the medication and Kuu was worried about it. He couldn't cancel all of the jobs that he was doing altogether but he was making sure to take time away from the set. Kuon needed him and Kuu had the feeling that Kuon felt that he had been left alone again. Rick had come over and Kuu was hoping that having a friend might inspire Kuon more.

"So your dad sounds really overprotective," Rick stated and Kuu felt his stomach turn over and twist. Yes. He was but it was for Kuon's own good, right?

"I had a gun pointed at my head, my dad gets to worry about me but I can't believe…I can't believe that I wanted to make up for the blood that I…" Kuon whimpered and Kuu bowed his head. He didn't want for them to know of his presence here but it hurt his heart when he heard about Kuon's own insecurities.

"Those people didn't die, sure they got hurt but that's their own fault. If they weren't _them_ then they wouldn't deserve to get hurt," Rick said as he started to pace the room and Kuon tried to think on that. He wanted to say something that would impress his friend but he wanted to be honest to himself and he didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. He liked learning new skills but not to hurt others. His dad wouldn't hurt others.

"I don't want to -"

"So, you want them to think that you're weak, like you're the monster they say you are all trapped and alone and scared," Rick challenged him and Kuu felt his back straighten as he sat upright. This wasn't the type of thing that any parent wanted their child to believe and Kuon was already vulnerable. "Trust me, pure rage is the only thing that they'll listen to."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Kuon stressed and Rick sighed loudly, sounding exhausted.

"You're weak. It's a hunt or be hunted world out there and you're just a weak little chicken. If you're not able to take things into your own hand and play the situation out the way that you want it to happen then we can't be friends anymore. If you really wanted to be my friend, you would defend yourse- no, you would go on the offensive. Become the wolf. Bite anyone who challenges that happy future that you desire. Can you do that?" Rick asked him and Kuon flinched.

Kuon shook his head, not wanting the friendship to end but he knew that what his dad had been asking for and what he wanted were the same things and what Rick was trying to corrupt him into wasn't who he wanted to be. He took a weak breath in and then shook his head again, "I can't," he said and Kuu stood up walking down the stairs.

"Then I'm done with you until you can think clearly," Rick told him before walking out of the room. "You're useless, Hizuri," he said before Rick stopped in front of Kuu who was eyeing him with dislike after the way that he had spoken to his son.

"Until you learn the value of friendship, please leave," Kuu said. He hadn't wanted to stop this friendship because he didn't want Kuon to be alone but as much as he wanted to fight against the idea, he had to admit that Kuon was vulnerable. He wasn't able to fight for himself these days and though he tried, many things were making it nearly impossible.

Kuu stood in the doorway, imagining a black cloud looming over his son. He sighed and Kuon turned to him.

"Hey," he said softly and Kuu nodded, "Are you mad at me, Dad?" he asked and Kuu shook his head.

"I'm just disappointed," he said and Kuon looked at him terrified. "I'm disappointed that life has to be so crappy for an amazing, inspirational kid like you. If I could make this world all lollipops and rainbows for you, I'd do it," Kuu tried to tell him and Kuon shook his head.

"Thank god that you _can't_ do that," he said before trying to smile, "That would be all kinds of crazy."

 **End of Chapter Four**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Four**

Brennakai, Erza, Guest, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD, Phoenix1218, Tam2013,

 **AN:** I can't believe I've been working on this fic for two years. How the time flies.


	50. AUTHOR NOTE

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ALWAYS FOLLOWING ME SO KINDLY AND READING MY WORK

BECAUSE I HAVE HAD A DISLIKE FOR THE SKIP BEAT NEW CHAPTERS FOR SOME TIME, I HAVEN'T BEEN READING THEM. I WAS GETTING FRUSTRATED WITH THE LACK OF PROGRESSION WITH THE KYOKO-KUON RELATIONSHIP AND WAS ONLY READING PLOT SUMMARIES. I DON'T THINK I'VE READ A NEW CHAPTER FOR MAYBE TWO OR THREE YEARS THOUGH I'VE LOOKED AT IMAGES AND READ SUMMARIES ON NEW CHAPTERS.

I LEARNED TONIGHT THAT KANAE HAD BEEN OFFERED A PART IN AN AMERICAN MOVIE AND GIVEN THE IMAGES I SAW IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. I HATE TO SAY THIS. BUT I'M DONE WITH THIS SERIES. I'M JUST….I'M DONE

I WILL BE UPDATING FOR THE OTHER MANY OTHER SERIES' I WRITE FOR BUT UNTIL I CAN ACTUALLY STOMACH WHAT CRUELTIES HAVE BEEN DEALT TO MY FAVORITE CHARACTER, KUON. I WILL NOT BE UPDATING THIS FIC OR ANY OF MY SKIP BEAT FICS

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE IF YOU DO DECIDE TO WAIT FOR ME.

TO EVERYBODY ELSE, IT'S BEEN FUN.

FAY


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